Crimson Snowfall
by Tao-Senpai
Summary: Yukiko left the Rin mountains to find a new life. I never knew I would be the main factor of an evil master plan to destroy Konoha, nor that I would find what I truly desired in a smut reading jonin and his team....love KakaXOC
1. A whole new world

_I will state this now I do not own Naruto or any related indica. Yukiko is my own creation as a character she is mine as is the village of Rin and my invented people._

Crimson Snowfall

The soft squishing of mud was all I heard from my own boots as I walked the humid, hot, wet path that wound its way in front of me. The forest around me was so green it felt like I was trapped in an emerald cage where forms of flora fed off of one another and the damp climate they inhibited. I sighed and pulled a sandwich out of my traveling pack. I had been on the road now for quite a while. I was an assassin who had left home high in the western mountains across the desert and plains to find something I had longed for since I was a small child.

My past was rather odd from most children. To start I was found outside of a Shinto gate to the infamous Rin Village of assassins. No one knew how I had managed to get there, a screaming baby for only a few months left in the snow. That's how I was found.

I was taken in by the village and raised like any child was expected to in the village; to become a skilled assassin. It was a long journey with many pains both physical and mental. I was the pride of the village, the found baby girl that would be the next yukikage. I had strange talents that increased my field of visioion, see chakra points and could see through any genjutsu and create genjutsu that would last days to my opponent. The other village inhabitants were afraid of my talents, they warned their children about me and many of the adults treated me with utter respect. Not many children at the age of 13 managed to kill an entire platoon of elite assassins from rock country in ten minutes. But I could and I did. But once I became a trained assassin and was assigned to a platoon I thought I had something that no one could take away from me. I had friends that loved me like a sister and I loved one as a brother and another as my future husband and a teacher who I loved like a father. But they were snatched away from me in one fatal battle. My teacher fled the village after that for unknown reasons. But before he left he told me to leave Rin and search for my own happiness, whatever the cost.

So here I was, covered in mud and soggy from the never ending rainfall, leagues away from home and was eating a peanut butter sandwich did I mention covered in mud? Life was amazing, not. I finished my lunch and started walking again. I knew I was in a ninja province because I had felt the masked chakra from their elite teams doing regular checks on me as I progressed my way through the forest.

Currently I was on my way to the head village of Konoha in order to speak with their kage to see if they wanted my services as an assassin. It was not uncommon for Rin assassins to do as such. Some assassin would leave Rin for years on traveling expeditions to foreign countries for money or just for fun. I was on a mission as I said before.

That was probably the only reason the patrols hadn't attacked me yet was probably because of my purple cloak and black face mask that was standard for all Rin assassins. I continued through the thick underbrush as soon I noticed the vague shape of a large red gate come into view through the thick trees.

The gates were painted a bright red with FIRE written in bold letters across the two open doors. The muddy path opened into cobblestones as I stepped through the gate. To my left there were two young men looking distinctly bored as they had their feet up on the table.

'Um excuse me, can you point me the way to the kage's office?' I asked as one of the chounin with spiky black hair and a white bandage over his nose jumped to his feet. I jumped back at the sudden motion as the other had on a bandana with his hair over one eye.

'Uh yes, but first we need to know what you are doing in the village" the spiky haired one waved to the other as he disappeared in a poof of smoke. I nodded and came closer to the table. He looked up at me and seemed taken aback as he looked at my eyes. I had rather unique eyes. It looked like I had no pupil and my iris had taken over and made the whole segment look a glacier ice blue green colour. He handed me a few papers as I filled them out. They were pretty routine like occupation, name, country of birth, such things that were standard. I filled them out as the other young man brought two masked guards with him.

The spiky haired one gave my paperwork a glance before his eyes widened. He wrote something on a note pad before sticking it onto my paperwork and handed it to one of the cat masked guards. The guard nodded and disappeared as I turned back to the two at the table.

'If you would follow the Anbu captain to the hokage's office your paperwork has been sent ahead.' The man with his hair flipped over smiled at me as I bowed to them and followed the Anbu guard. This village was rather fussy it seemed about security as I followed the guard through the cheery little town.

All of the buildings were painted in happy colours of reds and yellows accented by blues and greens. Villagers watched me with interest as I walked beside the guard. Children ran and laughed chasing dogs or one another as delicious smells from restaurants just asked me to sit down to try some. We passed some training grounds where I could hear people practicing from their shouts and clang of weapons. There was a school where children were leaving for the day waving good bye to friends before meeting siblings for supper.

The hokage's building was up the road from the hospital as I noticed the huge carvings of men and a woman carved into the rock behind the building. This village was huge! I couldn't stop looking around as the guard ushered me through the doors to a reception room that was rather bland. It was designed in tones of brown as the guard told me to wait there. I took a seat in one of the large brown chairs as the receptionist looked at me with annoyance. I just sat calmly waiting for whoever was tying up the hokage to be done.

It was much cooler and less humid in the buildings as I shook out my wet hair making the receptionist even more annoyed at the fact that not only was I making her chairs soggy from my cloak but was spraying the water all over her nicely waxed floor. Showed her for having such a boring reception area. I really hated waiting as I bounced my leg my boots leaving dirty smears on the floor. I ignored the receptionist as I heard a door click from down the hall as a mix of voices poured out into the silent hallway.

I sat and watched as five people walked past me all talking rather loudly. There were three teenagers. A pink haired girl who seemed quite pretty except for her rather large forehead who stood next to a black haired boy that stayed quiet as he looked rather annoyed at listening to the blonde boy beside him who was chatting up a storm. Behind the blonde was a huge man with white hair and black facial tattoos who seemed to enjoy laughing at the blonde. Behind the girl was a tall man with an athletic build with gravity defying white hair. They passed me as I locked eyes with the gravity defying hair guy. He seemed vaguely familiar as he raised an eyebrow before they all disappeared out of the doors.

That was weird. I turned and nearly leapt out of my seat in fright because the receptionist was glaring down at me with such intensity I thought she was going to murder me right then and there.

"The Hokage will see you now' she snapped as I nodded and bolted down the hall. The woman was terrifying! I stopped running in front of two large doors marked FIRE with two more Anbu guards outside. I could tell they were amused by my antics as I nodded and collected my nerve before entering the office.

I hated interviews. And I immediately knew the Hokage didn't like me. I was screwed.

The circular office had paper everywhere as a blonde woman sat behind a large brown desk with a brown haired woman standing beside her with a pig in her arms. I bowed and looked at them. The blonde woman just looked irritated as I tried my best to smile.

"So Assassin what do you want?" she asked as I was rather surprised at her blunt report.

'I'm here to offer my skills to your village. I am a highly trained ninja on par with any of your Anbu teams and am willing to work for your village for a small fee. If you do not wish for my skills I will leave the village immediately.' I said as the blonde woman looked at me. The brunette seemed rather surprised. Had they never heard of wandering assassins that offered their skills for room and board?

There was a nose just outside of the window to the left of the Hokage. It was definitely a person as I noticed their chakra was masked rather well. Inside my cloak I pulled out two ninja stars and never looking away from the hokage threw them at the curtain. The Hokage didn't even blink as the brunette jumped. There was a chuckle before the white haired man with strange hair appeared from behind the curtain.

The Hokage looked intrigued as the brunette looked utterly confused and scared. The white haired man twirled one of the stars on his finger as the Hokage actually gave a slight smile.

'You're very talented Miss" he nodded at me as I thanked him. I looked at the Hokage, she seemed more intrigued by our little interaction than by actually thinking of hiring me. And I really needed this job as I shifted my weight to my other leg. "I think she could be an asset especially in light of certain circumstances Hokage-sama' he said as the blonde smiled and laughed. This surprised me, this guy was vouching for a stranger?

'I was already going to hire her Kakashi. We need many more jounins than we have. I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.' she gave me an irritated glance. I tried my best to smile under her glare but it failed miserably. Kakashi seemed rather pleased by this news as he handed my weapons back. I stuck them back into my leather holster as the Hokage was busy scribbling something on paper. I waited as Kakashi stood next to me looking rather bored by the whole affair. What a weirdo.

'Here. Kakashi she is assigned with your squad for now. She will also work independently as I wish depending on the mission. She will be lodging with-' the hokage looked down a roster it seemed as a devious smile seemed to cross her face. I felt my stomach drop. 'Sasuke and Naruto. They have a spare room don't they?' she seemed too smug as Kakashi just nodded. She waved us from the room as I followed Kakashi.

We passed the receptionist as she glared at me and I attempted to hide behind my new teammate. Her glare following us out the doors and into the late afternoon light before the doors swung shut behind us. Once we were outside I let out a deep breath and let the straps on my pack loosen.

'That woman is terrifying' I muttered more to myself as I brushed my hair out of my face. There was a chuckle beside me as I looked over at the tall man. 'what?' I asked rather annoyed that he was eavesdropping on my muttering.

'nothing, the hokage really isn't that bad' he stated as I stared at him then laughed. He seemed confused as I shook my head.

'No, no I meant the receptionist.' I stated as Kakashi gave a nod and his one visible eye crinkled a little as if he were smiling.

'Yes, she is frightening isn't she?' he said as he pulled a book out of his pocket. I looked at the label. Make out Tactics. I blinked as he started walking. I followed reading the blurb on the back as my eye twitched. He was reading porn! This guy definitely had some serious issues if he were walking around publicly reading X rated novels. This was definitely going to be interesting if I was stuck with captain porn.

We walked a little further until we were standing on a little bridge, I watched the water ebb and flow beneath the little foot path as Kakashi turned and put his book back into his vest.

'So tell me a bit about yourself. I'm Kakashi Hatake also known as the copy-ninja' he said as my mind clicked from where I knew him. I had fought this man before but at the time I had been a child and he had been an Anbu captain. He watched me with a guarded expression as I wondered if he remembered me from all of those years ago. Not likely seeing as all I remembered of the battle was not being able to take my eyes off of him even for a split second. 'Hello? You still in there?' he waved his hand in front of me as I shook my head.

'Sorry, I'm Yukiko from the Village hidden in the ice.' I said as I gave my friendliest smile. He seemed amused by me as he ran a hand through his odd hair.

'Don't you have a family name?' he asked as I knew he was only curious. It was odd for people not to have last names.

'No, I'm an orphan. I never knew who my parents were. I was found in a blizzard by one of the ice patrols returning on a mission.' I shrugged as Kakashi's visible eye narrowed. He seemed on edge all of a sudden as I checked the area around us. There was nothing. 'Are you alright?' I asked as suddenly he looked bored once again.

'Perfectly fine. Now shall I show you your new room mates?' he asked as I nodded. He led the way as we passed a cute flower shop where a blonde girl was talking with a rather large young man in battle armor and a scruffy boy with his hair in a ponytail who looked distinctly bored listened. The blonde waved at Kakashi as he held up a hand in greeting. They all turned to stare at me as I smiled and kept pace with captain porn.

We continued along as I noticed strings of lanterns beginning to light up. At least the town I had picked for my stay was pretty. Not like some of the other villages I'd stayed in. We passed a small bar where there were a lot of drunken shouts and laughter. I looked at my pocket watch. It was only 5 in the evening and they were already drunk! I laughed as I heard a few cat calls in my direction.

Kakashi looked back at me as I met his dark brown eye with a raised eyebrow before he turned back to the road in front of us. I shook my head as we rounded a corner and a group of people we walking toward us.

'Kakashi! Who's your new little friend?' A handsome man with a senbon needle between his teeth asked as he was smacked up the side of the head by a pretty lady with blazing red eyes and black hair. I looked at Kakashi as he glanced at the people in front of us. There was also a man in a green unitard that really scared me and a woman with an enormous dog that stood almost to her chest. I blinked. What oh what had I gotten myself into?

"Everyone this is Yukiko. She's a new Jounin transferred from… uh?' he looked at me as I gave him a bland look. Well at least he remembered my name. I turned to the others with a smile.

'Hi, I'm Yukiko from the Village hidden in the Ice and this idiot cant seem to remember much more than my name. It's a pleasure to meet you' I smiled as suddenly the guy in the green unitard was holding my hand.

'I am sorry miss for kakashi's in excusably rude actions of not remembering where you are from! Welcome to Konoha! I am the great fabled Green beast of Konoha also known as Maito Gai!-' He continued talking as I tried not be rude but this guy was insanely weird as he apologized about Kakashi's rudeness and talked about spring of youth or something. I looked at my escort for help only to find him reading porn.

My mouth dropped open. He didn't even care enough to help me? JERK! I looked at the man who's eyebrows looked like they were their own entities as I gently pulled my hand back from him.

'It's a pleasure to meet you Gai-san' I said as He stopped and gave a piercing smile that nearly blinded me by their whiteness. Good lord!

'Eh, Gai stop scaring her.' The red eyed woman said as he fell silent and the guy with the senbon needle clicked it between his teeth. 'I'm Kurenai, this is Genma and Tsume with her familiar Kuromaru' She pointed to the senbon needly guy, the girl with had wild hair and purple facial tattoos and the horse of a dog beside her.

'Nice to meet you' Kuromaru said as I smiled. It had been a long time since I had heard an animal talk. The only ones who had in the mountains were the snow leopards that very few people had a connection to.

'It's nice to meet you too Kuromaru-san' I said as the dog's tail wagged slightly as he looked up at his owner.

'She seems very polite and bright Tsume. Hokage-sama chose well for a foreigner' he said as a blush worked its way to my face. I was glad for my mask then as I glanced at Kakashi who was still engrossed in his book.

'Hey captain porn can you show me where I'm staying please?' I asked as I heard a snicker from Genma and Gai as Kakashi looked up at me.

'It's not very nice to call people names Ice queen. But if you persist I will show your lodgings.' He stated as I turned a frosty glare on him. A chorus of laughter broke out as I jump and looked at the others.

'She has a glare that could rival an Uchiha! This should be interesting working with you Yukiko-san!' Kurenai giggled as I wondered what an Uchiha was before Kakashi started walking again. I turned to follow him.

'Hey Kakashi! Meet us at the senbon tonight!' Genma called as they disappeared from view around a corner. I caught up to Kakashi as he stepped up a few stairs to a nice looking little house with white siding and dark green shutters on the windows.

Kakashi opened the door and walked in as I stood on the threshold. It was quite cozy with dark hardwood floors. There was a little entranceway with tile and a closet to my right. Past the was a living room with big fluffy looking white couches and a Tv. There was an staircase to my left and what looked like a smaller room that I assumed was for laundry. Behind the living room was the kitchen it seemed where there was an opening to see over the stove and counter where black cupboards looked at me. The dining room was to the right of the Kitchen with big windows along the back of the house facing a rather pathetic back yard that had a nice patio and a sorry looking tree.

'Naruto, Sasuke.' Kakashi called as I followed him into the kitchen. My socks slipping a little on the polished floorboards as we entered the kitchen. A bleep bloop noise caught my attention as I saw the blonde boy from earlier playing a video game with his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth.

'Naruto where is Sasuke?' Kakashi asked as Naruto shrugged. Well he was quite talkative it seemed as He glanced over at us before going back to his game.

'why is Hinata here?' naruto asked never looking away from the screen as I looked at Kakashi. Who was Hinata?

'This isn't Hinata this is your new roommate Yukiko' Kakashi said as Naruto turned to stare at me. I gave a small wave as suddenly the tall boy was right up in my face.

'Hey! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, I guess you're my new roommate are you related to Hinata? Where are you from? What rank are you? Do you like Ramen? How do you know Kakashi-sensei?' I blinked and took a step back from the young man. He was definitely energetic as there was a cough from behind me.

'Why is Hinata here?' the voice was lower and colder as I turned to see the black haired boy from earlier today staring at me rather coldly. I blinked. I hadn't realized how much this young man had looked like my teacher all those years ago when we had found him freezing to death in Kikyo pass.

'This is our new roommate! uh….. what's your name again?' Naruto asked as I dead panned. Kakashi gave a chuckle as I shot him a don't-start-with-me-now look as the jounin put up his hands in an apology.

'My name is Yukiko. Remember it.' I said as I shifted my rather heavy pack from my shoulders to the floor with a heavy thud. I looked at the three men standing around the room watching me as I stood and removed my soggy cloak and draped it over my pack. I wasn't wearing anything special just a pair of black pants with my holster on my hip. A mesh shirt with my mask vest underneath and a red yukata loosely fastened with a white obi over it covered by an unzipped high collared white coat with my villages symbol embroidered onto the shoulders.

My headband was being used as a head band to hold back my long dark purple hair. I looked at Kakashi as he suddenly had a really bad nosebleed and fell to the ground twitching. Naruto burst into laughter as I looked over at the man who was now twitching only once in awhile but looked completely happy.

RIIIIIIIIIIGHT. Point to me, I managed to give captain porn an erection just by removing a traveling cloak. I admitted I wasn't the skinniest girl but I did love my wonderful curves.

'So who's hungry?' I said clapping my hands together as naruto looked at me like I was a god. The guy who I assumed was Sasuke just gave a 'hn' and walked over to Naruto's abandoned game giving his sensei a poke with his foot on the way. I stifled a laugh as Kakashi came around and sat up looking bored once again.

I looked in the fridge to find little of anything as Naruto hovered over my shoulder looking in the fridge around me. I shook my head and pulled out a few carrots, turnip, and a big potatoe. I poked around in the freezer finding a frozen steak that I could used for a base of a stew.

'Anyone vegetarian?' I asked as they all gave me a look like I was crazy or something. I guessed not as I fried up the steak and put the veggies and a bit of water in the bottom and left it to simmer. Kakashi had taken to reading another one of his books as Naruto was watching T.V. with Sasuke.

'So…. How old are you boys? 16, 17?' I asked leaning against the bar as Naruto gazed at me from the T.v. Kakashi looked at me. I guessed Kakashi to be about 29-30 somewhere around that mark as I looked that the two teenagers.

'Well everyone just turned 17 and my birthday is coming up in a week so yea' Naruto said lamely as I smiled. So these boys were smack in the middle of teenagerdom. Poor souls.

'What about you Yukiko-san?' Kakashi's smooth voice washed over me as I looked at the tall man who was looking at me with his one visible eye. I thought for a minute.

'What month and year is it?' I asked as it was Sasuke who surprised me with the answer.

'October 2, 2008' he stated as I did the math. HOLY CRAP I WAS turning 22 in 3 months! I hadn't realized I'd been traveling for over two years.

'Well I'm turning 23 in January' I stated as Naruto whistled.

'Damn, I thought you were only like 19 well I'm out!' Naruto said as he earned a glare from me. I was not that old!

Kakashi gave a chuckle and stood. He brush past me and stirred the food on the stove. It was beginning to smell awesome as I noticed he'd left his book on the table unattended. I walked over and picked it up. I was curious as to what could possibly make this interesting in the slightest way. I flipped open to the most worn pages in the book and started reading.

_Her eyes glowed with lust as he whispered huskily into her ear. He didn't know why she had this effect on him. This pull as her hands dipped lower earning a moan from his stressed body._

'_why?' he asked as she brushed a long strand of toffee hair back from her dark brown viscous eyes._

'_I've been meaning to discuss some private matters with you' she whispered lustfully as he fought the urge to tear her clothes off of her and-_

'WHAT THE HELL!?' I shreaked throwing the book clear across the room where Kakashi was instantly to catch his precious novella but ended up having it smack him in the face instead. 'THAT IS NOT APPROPRIATE FOR ANYONE!!' I roared as Naruto snickered and Kakashi rubbed the spot where the book had hit him.

'I never asked you to approve my reading choices and this is classic literature' he stated as I fumed.

'Classic literature my ass!' I said as Kakashi gave a crinkled eye smile.

'And a fine one it is at that' he stated as I heard Naruto gag as I rolled my eyes. He was a pathetic flirt. Probably from those badly written books as I crossed my arms.' Your foods done by the way' Kakashi said as I noticed he now held a bowl of stew in his hand. I blinked then looked from the stove to him. Man this guy was fast, now I knew why I had needed my special abilities to follow him when I fought him all of those years ago.

Naruto and Sasuke grabbed bowls of food and sat at the table as I joined the three men.

'So Yukiko-san, What level of Ninja are you?' Naruto asked already on his second bowl of food. The boy could really pack away food as I noticed someone steal the last piece of bread. I cut another as I thought of the best way to explain it.

'I'm an assassin. I'm technically on par with your Anbu teams? Is that what they're called?' I took a bite of bread as Naruto's mouth opened up. Sasuke looked slightly interested as Kakashi was already done and reading his book.

'So, why are you in Konoha then?' Sasuke asked as I blinked.

'have you never heard of Ice assassins?' I asked as naruto shook his head and Sasuke looked at me icily. I shrugged, well there was always worse they could be naieve about. "ok lets see. My village allows its ninjas to go anywhere we please without direction from our Kage once we reach a certain level of training. This allows Ice ninjas to leave our home and travel to foreign countries where we allow other kage's to hire us to help protect their village as long as one of the missions does not warrant us to give and of the Ice villages locations, forbidden jutsus or plan an attack on the village.' I stated as Kakashi just continued reading his damned book. I swear that man had some bipolar issue or something.

'So, you're working for the Hokage to help us as a hired henchman?' Naruto asked as I cringed a little. Great I was a henchman not a recognized kunoichi. This was going to be a long stay.

'No Naruto. She isn't a henchman. She's an elite kuniochi who is offering her services to benefit our village as long as we do not attack hers. It's been a long time since we had an Ice ninja in Konoha. The last time there was one I was about 13 and he was definitely elite.' Kakashi mused as I nodded. Sasuke went to put his bowl in the sink.

'Why do your assassins not come to fire country much?' Sasuke muttered as I thought back to all of the ambushes and rouge ninja's I had encountered on my journey so far. I nearly laughed, there were too many to count.

'Its… tricky to come to this continent. There are so many ninja in such a small place and everyone always seems to be walking on others toes. As well your village seems to breed strong ninja and if too many strong ninja are contained in such a small area its a recipe for disaster because of the competition between nations. That is why ice ninja are expected to leave for extended periods of time so that we don't have a massacre between our own hierarchy.' I said as they all seemed to be very interested in the politics of my home country and village.

'That's a rather interesting way of doing business Yukiko-san' Kakashi said as an alarm went off that made me jump to my feet already holding a weapon.

'CRAP I'M LATE!' Naruto yelled running upstairs where there were a series of bangs and thumps before he was running down the stairs looking quite well dressed with a small present in his hand.

'Where are you going moron?' Sasuke asked rather blandly as Naruto pulled on his sandals.

'I have a date with Ayame tonight!' He said as Kakashi gave a laugh. I wondered why this was humorous as Naruto gave me a large hug before bolting out the door with a see you later.

I blinked. Did he just hug me?

'He's a real whirlwind' Kakashi said standing beside me as I blinked again and nodded dumbly. He gently took my kunai from my grip and dropped it into my weapons pouch as the door banged open again.

I looked at Kakashi as he gave a warm smile to the pink haired young woman who looked rather frazzled as she shucked off her boots muttering something about idiots and senbon needles.

'Good even Sakura. Do you want to meet your new roommate?' Kakashi interrupted her mumbling as Sakura was immediately awake and looked at me. I gave a small wave as her mouth dropped open.

'Kakashi what? Are you paying her?' she asked as he put a hand on my shoulder. The room went silent as I looked at Kakashi with a frosty stare. I looked at the hand then at him as he continued to smile. I gently took his hand off my shoulder and slapped him to the floor before walking over to meet Sakura who was still gaping at me.

'Hello Sakura-san, I'm Yukiko. I'm your new roommate' I smiled as Sakura gave a polite smile back.

"Oh! I'm sorry about that comment. It's just that we never see Kakashi-sensei with any women ever. So I was wondering, but I'm terrible sorry Yukiko-senpai!' she scrambled to apologize as I concealed a small smile. We bowed to each other as Sakura excused herself because she needed sleep and was still rather embarrassed by assuming I was a prostitute.

'I think you fried her brain there yukiko-san' Kakashi said as I shrugged. The San was getting annoying as I glanced back at Kakashi who had gotten back to his feet and was watching me rather closely.

'You both can just call me Yuki or Yukiko. No formalities please' I said as Kakashi shrugged.

'Do we have any missions soon Kakashi-sensei?' Sasuke asked as the tall man pulled a pair of scrolls out of his pockets.

'I have one here for You, Naruto and Sai as well as one for Yuki, Sakura, and myself.' He stated as I took the scroll from him and read it over. Quite a simple mission really just an A-rank mission escorting some woman named Kaname Takanoha to The village hidden in the grass. It seemed simple enough.

'Another A-rank Kakashi-sensei?' Sasuke looked mildly irritated as I glanced at his paper. It was only a C-rank mission going to collect some papers from a different village that didn't seem to have a courier service due to ninja interfering with various documents.

'Of course Sasuke, I'm surprised they didn't make it an S-rank but none the matter this escort should be easy. You should focus on your own missions though not another shinobi's.' I raised an eyebrow at the acid in Kakashi's tone. Something told me that he didn't trust Sasuke or even like him for that matter.

'Hn' was Sasuke's reply as he walked upstairs leaving the two of us by ourselves in the living room. I glanced at him as he just looked bored as he always did it seemed.

'Do you live here too?' I asked as he shook his head.

'I live a few blocks from here in my own apartment.' He said as I nodded and went back to the kitchen to collect my belongings. Kakashi followed me as I swung my heavy pack onto my shoulders. To my surprise he caught it easily with one hand and slung it over his one shoulder. 'Do you wish for me to bring this to your room?' he asked as I nodded collecting my cloak and following him upstairs.

My pack weighted a good 100 pounds at the least as he carried it like it was nothing at all. Male pride I laughed as he had once again whipped out one of his Make Out Paradise books. When we got upstairs I noticed there was a smaller living room to my left and beyond that were 4 doors on the right with two more doors on the left.

'Are you coming?' Kakashi glanced at me as he stood at the door the furthest down the hall on the right. I caught up and pushed the door open. It was quite a nice room with birch furniture and a queen sized bed with purple sheets on it.

'Wow.' I spun around looking at everything as Kakashi gave a small laugh before setting my bag down beside my bed. I turned to look at him, still engrossed in his book as I stepped past him into the hallway.


	2. An evening Out

It was still early only 7pm as I decided to let myself take a tour around town. There wasn't much that could phase me especially in a town like this one. I noticed Kakashi didn't try to follow as I slipped on my boots and walked out the front door.

My new roommates and teammates seemed… Odd, for lack of a better word I thought as I walked down the street. The street lamps were a light as I headed back into town. Young people were meeting in groups to go to clubs and bars. Couples wandered around the streets going to eateries or movies for the evening. I put my hands in my pockets as I wandered between the various people who didn't give me a second glace. For once I was thankful that my mask didn't make me stand out.

I glanced at the movies, mostly action movies and a few chick flicks and a horror movie about zombies it seemed. I passed by opting for a small tea house with bright lanterns and flower petals decorating the sign.

Inside was fairly traditional as I noticed it was mostly older ladies sipping tea. One of the hostesses seated me at a table away from the door but still in view of it as I glanced over the menu.

Some giggling caught my attention as I glanced to my right. Seated in a booth was the young girl with blonde hair from earlier, a bigger girl with long dark purple hair and eyes shockingly similar to mine, across from her was a young woman with her hair up in matching buns and next to her was a young blonde woman with crazy blonde hair sticking out of four ponytails. She seemed familiar as the name came to me Temari. She was from sand if I remember correctly. Kankuro and Gaara were her brothers, Gaara a demon carrier as I remembered correctly from my short term of teaching them as small children.

I went back to my menu, picking out a seasonal apple tea that looked nice as the waitress sidled up beside me.

'What can I get you miss?' She asked as I glanced up at her. She was an elderly woman with a kind smile as she waited for my response.

'I'll have some of your apple spice and some mochi please' I stated as she nodded and took my menu. The girls at the table across from me seemed as if they were waiting for someone. The conversation around me was light as ladies seemed to enjoy company with one another and a nice evening chat before returning to their homes.

The front door opened as I noticed Sakura run into the small restaurant. She looked around, she spotted me and gave a wave before heading toward the other table with the girls. I assumed they were her friends.

'Evening Yukiko-senpai' Sakura smiled stopping by my table. I gave her a smile in return. IT was nice that even in a new town that the people took initiative to make me feel welcome.

'Evening Sakura' I said as the one blonde girl with one ponytail approached us. She seemed rather curious as I watched the other girls look at me with a slight air of curiosity around them.

'Who's your new friend Sakura?" she asked as Sakura turned to look at her.

'This is Yukiko-senpai and this is Ino' She introduced us as Ino gave me a small wave.

'Good evening' I said as Ino gave me a smile before turning to Sakura.

'Why didn't you invite her to join us? It would only be polite seeing as she is a new ninja to the village' Ino stated as Sakura blushed in embarrassment.

'I'm so sorry Yukiko-senpai! You must think I'm terribly rude!" Sakura fussed as I waved it off.

'Really Sakura I don't think you're rude. You just seem tired, had a long day of work I assume or a mission?' I said as Sakura nodded and Ino gave a brilliant smile. I stood as Ino ushered me to the table waving to the elderly lady who was watching us with a warm smile from across the room.

I took a seat next to Temari as Ino and Sakura sat next to the purple haired girl kitty corner to my seat.

'Everyone this is Yukiko-senpai!' Sakura announced as everyone gave me a warm hello. 'This is Hinata Hyuuga' Sakura pointed to the blushing purple haired girl.

'H-hello-o Yu-Yukik-ko se-senp-pai' she stammered before lowering her head allowing her bangs to hide her face. I smiled.

'It's very nice to meet you Hinata-san' I said as the girl raised her head surprised on her pretty face.

'n-no, p-p-please c-call m-me hi-hinata-chan' she managed to stutter as I nodded.

'And this is TenTen' Sakura waved at the girl with the buns on her head. She seemed more of a tomboy as she gave me a cheery smile.

'Hey Yukiko-senpai' she said with a wave as I gave a nod in return.

'And this is-'

'Temari-chan' I finished as the blonde girl looked quite surprised. I laughed as she stared at me rather intently. 'It's quite alright I'm not really surprised you don't remember me. I mostly taught Gaara when you were still quite small. Only about 9 you were at the time and it was only for a few months.' I stated as Temari's brain seemed to click into memory of me.

'Ah! Yes, Yuki-sensei! You gave me my first real fan and Kankuro his first puppet. I forgot that all those years ago' she said as the other girls settled in more comfortably to my presence knowing that one of them was already familiar with me.

'So Yuki-sensei, what have you been up to since you left sand?' Temari asked as I thought for a minute. So much had happened since that simple little mission to teach the future of the hidden sand village. I couldn't tell them all that transpired but I could give them a few highlights.

'Well, after I left sand I returned to the Ice village to continue my training. There was another mission where I came this way and I think worked with a few of your ninja here in Konoha to end a kidnapping of some high end person or another. I completed my training as an assassin and gained a troop but sadly they were murdered. I left the ice village because I couldn't stand the frigid routines and have been traveling for the fun of it and I must admit it's the best way to go by far.' I said as Temari nodded. The others looked rather depressed at the mention of the murder of my troop.

'D-do you mi-miss them?' Hinata asked as I looked over at her. I gave a gentle smile.

'Of course, But I know they'll always be with me even if all I have are memories of our lives together' It was quite a simple statement but it was really what allowed me to deal with their deaths and move on in my life and not be consumed by grief and pain at the extreme losses I suffered on that day.

'So are you working here in konoha now?' Temari asked as I nodded the others seemed surprised by this news looking between one another.

'How can you be working for Konoha?' Ino asked as Temari stared at her like she had just grown another head.

'Have you never learnt about Ice ninja?' Temari asked as the leaf kunoichi shook their heads. I put my hand on Temari's shoulder.

'Don't worry about it. Only the older jounin here seem to really know about Ice ninja. It seems that not many come through here' I said as Temari relaxed a bit. I turned to the still confused others to try to explain my situation to them.

'where to begin.' I mused looking at the ceiling before looking at them. 'Alright, You all report to your kage right?' I stated as they nodded. 'Ice ninja are like rental ninja in a sense. When we become fully trained assassins we take blood oaths under the Yukikage to protect the Ice village and the yukikage with our lives above all other missions and other kages commands. After this is done we are either allowed to go on extended missions that are pretty vague that allow us to travel under whatever circumstances we want. That is what I requested.' Tenten wanted to interrupt but I held up a hand. 'The catch for us is that if we enter a ninja town we have to offer our services as highly trained assassin to that kage. If they refuse we have to leave and continue on our journey.' I said as Sakura seemed rather interested in my villages affairs.

'So do you have to report back to your Yukikage at all?' Sakura asked as I nodded.

'Every decade or so we have to check in with the yukikage or we will go on the file as deceased or missing in action. But above all ice ninja never can betray their village because of this blood oath. It will kill us before we even get the chance to plot against our home our ninja are that skilled. It's been ingrained with our chakra. It's a rather painful way of assuring the safety of the village' I said as the others seemed utterly stunned.

'So you're like a super ninja' Ino said rather lamely as I laughed.

'I guess you could say that. Highly skilled and trained I'd call it but I've got more than enough battle scars to prove it. Even a few from your baby brother Temari' I joked as she laughed to. The tea arrived as I dove into my mochi and tea. It had been quite some time since I'd sat down to a treat like this.

The other girls enjoyed their tea as they discussed recent missions they had been on and what were the newest stupid fashions for kunoichi that had been published.

'Supposedly hairspray can get blood out of blue clothing' Ino laughed as I shook my head.

'You really can't get blood out of anything its nearly impossible' Temari said pointing to an old rusty stain on the hem of her sleeve. I shook my head. IT really was nearly impossible to get blood out especially if it dried.

'So Temari, How's Shikamaru?' Tenten asked as Temari seemed slightly irked at this change of topic. She took a rather large gulp of tea before glaring a hole through the shoji screen beside tenten.

'That idiot stood me up for a good hour yesterday at the movies. How can he be so lazy?' she huffed returning to her tea.

'Well Temari, he did end up staying late at the hospital because he managed to rip open the stitches I put in from his last mission. He really needs to stop wrestling with Chouji' Sakura muttered as Temari seemed to cool off a bit.

'Oh, maybe that was why he tried to call me six times today. Gaara was getting annoyed because he couldn't get any work done' She laughed as I smiled and finished my mochi.

'Well at least he's not like Naruto who always misses the boat' Sakura sighed as Hinata blushed and seemed rather depressed all of a sudden. I remembered then that Naruto was on a date this evening with a girl named Ayame. Hm weird.

'Sasuke seems rather interested in you Sakura' Hinata muttered as Sakura laughed.

'Yea I figured as much when he asked me to dinner tomorrow night.' She smiled as Ino gaped at her.

'Are you actually thinking of going to dinner with him? With that traitor?' Ino shouted as Temari gave her a look. Sakura rolled her eyes.

'I'm not shallow Ino and Sasuke finally sees me as me.' she said as Ino scoffed.

'whatever he's still a traitor.' She rolled her eyes as I laughed. This was rather interesting as I wanted to end this argument.

'You should always give people a chance Ino' I said as she seemed rather embarrassed at her outburst. Sakura smiled at me as Temari turned to me.

'So Yuki-sensei have you seen anyone here in town that you might ask out?' she teased as I rolled my eyes.

'Out of all of the villages I've been in you have the weirdest assortment of shinobi I have ever seen' I stated finishing my tea as Sakura laughed. As the others giggled as Sakura nodded.

'Yes well you met Kakashi-sensei. Who else have you met?' Sakura asked as I thought.

'Hm, some guy in a green unitard named Gai, um…oh yea and Genma with a senbon needle in his teeth.' I stated as they all burst into laughter.

'You have the worst of luck Yuki-senpai!' Ino giggled as I shook my head.

'I think you've met three of the worst still single males in all of konoha!' Tenten laughed as I shook my head.

'Oh well at least Sakura is on my team with Kakashi otherwise I think I'll end up killing him' I laughed as everyone just laughed. We finished up at the teashop and paid our waitress.

We split up most of the girls were going to see the new horror movie that was out as Temari, Hinata and I headed out for a tour of the Village.

'So I guess we should show you around. Where should we show her first Hinata?' Temari asked as Hinata looked around for a second.

'Let's start with the monuments. We can show her things as we walk too' she whispered as Temari nodded and turned left. It was quite pleasant if not rather damp from the rain earlier as puddles reflected all of the neon lights from the shops.

Loud laughter came from the pubs as people stumbled around going from club to club. I noticed Naruto up ahead as he waved at us a brunette on his arm as he approached us.

'Hey! I didn't think you guys went clubbing' he said as Hinata blushed and Temari took pity on poor Hinata.

'We don't were showing Yuki-sensei around town' Temari said as Naruto gave a huge grin at us.

'Well why don't you join us?' he asked as the brunette giggled beside him. I raised an eyebrow as Hinata turned even more red.

'No thanks I really want to see the town' I said as Naruto sighed.

'Come on Yuki-chan please?' he asked as I gave him a glare.

'Arent you supposed to be on a date?' I asked as he seemed to come back to himself.

'Oh yea, sorry about that Ayame. Well if you want to join us you're welcome. Hey Hinata are you ok?' Naruto asked as Hinata blinked owlishly and swayed on her feet.

'I-I-m f-f-f-f-ine' she whimpered as naruto nodded touching her arm gently.

'Don't push yourself too hard Hinata you'll only make yourself sick' he said as Ayame pulled on his arm dragging him away. I rolled my eyes as Hinata returned to her normal colour. Someone had a crush on my blonde roommate.

We continued on until a loud smash of broken glass made us all jump and whip around. Two men stumbled out of a broken bar window as an all out brawl broke out on the street. I ducked as a broken bar stool sailed over my head followed by what looked like a pair of underwear as Temari and Hinata ran for cover in a nearby store.

A large man with a torn shirt threw a punch at the guy beside me as I moved my head to the left to avoid being smacked. I noticed Kurenai in the fray as she had a guy in a headlock and Genma who was hiding underneath an over turned table propped against a building wall.

One man ran at me brandishing a chair leg as a weapon. I moved to my right and caught him in a headlock. He attempted to hit me as I grabbed his underwear and pulled it over his head allowing him to fall flailing to the ground.

I turned as another guy ran at me I looked to my left to find a steel bucket. I grabbed it and swung it. The bucket landed on the guy's head with a satisfying clan as he wobbled off in a random direction trying desperately to pull the pail off of his head.

The brawl seemed to be dying down as I booted one guy in the butt as he flipped over and into a mud puddle. Another ended up tied to a lamppost with a pair of pants and the last one slipped in a puddle and managed to take himself out by dropping his beer bottle on his head and effectively knocking himself out.

I brushed myself off as the brawl seemed over. I looked at the people left standing surprisingly Kurenai, Kakashi, a man in a red with white hair, and Tsume were really the only people left standing as Genma appeared from his hiding spot.

'Hey pretty lady. Where did you learn to fight?' A deep voice made me look up as the guy in red with white hair had somehow appeared beside me.

'Uh…school?' I replied as I felt something brush my butt. My eye twitched, what was with this town and perverts.

'PERVERT!' I yelled grabbing his hand and flipping him onto the ground with a bit of chakra usage. He landed with a splash in a puddle as he looked up at me rather confused as the others laughed.

'Good job Jiraiya!' Genma called as Kakashi laughed. Jiraiya got to his feet as he laughed at me.

'Sorry miss I was just complementing your wonderful full feminine figure. It really is quite a work of art.' he stated as I just stared at him.

'Yukiko-senpai!' Hinata's voice made me turn around as she, Temari, Naruto and Sakura came running over to where the bar fight had taken place.

'Hey it's pervy sage!' Naruto said pointing at jiraiya as I burst out laughing. Pervy sage and captain porn this village was amazing. Naruto began talking up a storm to the fallen sage as Kakashi made his way through the mud and fallen drunks to stand beside me.

'You can definitely hold your own Yukiko-san' Kakashi was talking in a low voice so that no one but me could hear him. I smiled, at least someone was noticing that I'm not a pathetic little girl. I glanced at the tall jounin.

'You're not half bad yourself Kakashi.' I muttered as I watched Naruto irritating Jiraiya by asking him a million questions about nothing in general. I watched the others standing around us as the bar owner was talking over what had happened with Kurenai and Genma.

'Are you coming Yukiko-sensei?' Temari asked as Kakashi raised an eyebrow at me. I just shrugged at him.

'No thanks Temari, I'm going to head back to the house I'm tired.' I said as she nodded. Hinata waved as I turned to see Kakashi blocking my path. I looked up at him.

'I'll walk you home' he said as I shook my head.

'Don't bother Kakashi, I hear a bar calling your name.' I waved him off. He looked rather hurt as I looked back at his rather dejected form. He walked back toward where Kurenai was standing as I looked at the direction I had come. I really didn't have the heart to brush him off like that. I turned around to look at them.

'Hey Kakashi?' I called. He looked up as I smiled. 'Uh, Can you show me how to get back to Sasuke and Naruto's?' I asked as he seemed to perk up a bit. I looked at Kurenai as she gave me a wink. I heard a snicker as I looked at Sakura. She just raised an eyebrow as Temari gave me a rather smug look. I ignored them as Kakashi half walked half staggered over to where I was standing.

We walked back toward the house. Kakashi being polite walked beside me. A few times I had to make sure he didn't stumble into various obstacles as we made it back to the house. Kakashi was definitely drunk as he could barely walk a straight line without tripping into something.

'Are you going to be alright to make it home?' I asked as he stumbled into the third garbage can. I grabbed his arm gently pulling him away from the object. He laughed.

'I've done it before. I can manage' he laughed before he disappeared from my view. I looked around to find Kakashi's legs sticking out of a garbage can. I burst into laughter as I backtracked to help him.

'Are you sure you can manage?' I asked as I tipped over the trash can and helped him pull it off his shoulders. He gave me a rather sheepish look as it made me laugh even harder. We came to the front porch of the house as I noticed the lights were on. Sasuke was more than likely home as I opened the door. Kakashi stood on the porch as I shook my head.

'well good night!' he waved as I grabbed his wrist. He looked confused as I pulled him into the house. It was nice and warm and surprisingly dry inside as Kakashi stood like a marionette as I tried to sense who was in the house.

'Sasuke?" I called as I heard footsteps and said dark haired boy appeared on the stairs. I gave him a smile. 'Do you mind if Kakashi stays the night? He's drunk' I stated as Sasuke actually looked rather surprised that I had asked him if anyone could stay.

'I don't care' he stated as he went upstairs. I took that as a yes as I noticed Kakashi had seemingly fallen asleep against the wall by the door. I shook my head as I looked around the downstairs poking in all of the cupboards until I managed to find the spare blankets in the cupboard over the drier. I peeked around the corner to see Kakashi had slumped to the floor and was now snoring slightly. He must've drank a lot if he was that out of it as a ninja.

I set the blanket on the couch as Sasuke came down the stairs rather loudly.

'SH!' I hissed as Sasuke looked at me then at Kakashi. I motioned for him to be quiet as he rolled his eyes and walked over to the sleeping jounin. I hit my forehead as Sasuke poked Kakashi with his foot. The man didn't move as Sasuke poked him harder.

'Sasuke!' I hissed as the teen looked at me before shrugging and walking into the kitchen. I shook my head as I shook Kakashi's shoulder.

'Oi Kakashi' I shook him. His head lolled to the side as I shook him again. 'hey, wake up' I said a little louder as I heard footsteps returning from the kitchen.

'Cover your ears' Sasuke said as I turned to see an airhorn in his hands I did as I was told as he blasted the horn in Kakashi's face. The man jumped up so fast his head hit me in the chin smacking my teeth together painfully as I hit the floor and he looked around rather stunned.

'ow' I muttered as I heard a rushed apology before I was pulled to my feet. Kakashi's face mask was slightly askew as Sasuke had a large smirk across his face.

'I'm so sorry Yukiko-san' he apologized as I put a hand on his shoulder.

'It's alright. You need sleep, here you have the couch. I'll be upstairs if you need me.' I stated as Kakashi nodded and sat on the couch.

I made sure he was alright before returning to my room. I sighed as I flopped onto my bed. I really should've unpacked as the weapons that were concealed on me dug in slightly. I stood and removed most of my throwing stars, kunai and senbon needles before noticing my pack against my bed.

I opened the top of it pulling my Katana from its hiding place. Her name was Akane, her sheath was a deep red with a dragon carved onto the side as I put her beside my bed. She had been a gift by my Sensei when I had graduated to actual Assassin level.

I pulled out some clothing hanging it in the wardrobe and a few spare weapons went on the weapons rack beside my bed. A few scrolls went onto the bookshelves as did two books I had picked up along the way. Both were of different languages that the dialect here. One was written by a Rin ninja and another was written by a ninja from Tea country both were good stories. I bet not many people here would be able to read them.

I changed into my Pj's still keeping a few concealed weapons on me. It was a habit that I would never forget growing up in Rin it had been ingrained into us that we needed to always have a weapon ready.

I sighed as my curtains blew inward with a gust of cool night air. It was so much warmer than Rin here it was amazing even though it was October. I let the air wash over me as I drifted off to sleep.


	3. on the road again

'Hey you're late' I moved without thinking as Sasuke looked at me with a rather bored expression as I noticed I had a kunai pressed against his neck.

'Sorry' I apologized as I put the kunai back in my hiding place on my hip. Sasuke looked as annoyed as usual as I looked at my clock. 10:00 am it read as I looked at Sasuke. 'So... what am I late for again?' I asked as Sasuke just looked more annoyed. I waited. He stared at me. I stared at him. This went on for a few minutes.

'You were supposed to leave on a mission this morning at 9' He stated as I distinctly remembered the mission being tomorrow not today. I was about to voice this opinion when he interrupted me.

'The mission was move up because of your escort wanting to leave early' Sasuke said as I nodded and jumped out of bed. I push past him and into the bathroom. I was in and out and showered in 15 minutes before I threw on black pants, a new face mask tank, my mesh shirt and yukata. I threw on my white coat and strapped Akane to my back before outfitting myself with weapons and packed a smaller pack full of basic travel needs.

I ran down the stairs and out into the bright sunshine that was making the day uncomfortably warm and humid for me. But as I saw it was cold for the people here as they were all bundled in winter coats and some even had wool hats on.

I headed towards the hokage's tower when I realized. I had no idea where the hell we were supposed to me.

'Crap…' I muttered looking around the small square I had found myself in. I got more than a few looks and whispers as I guessed the best bet for a meeting place would be the main gate. I was over two hours late I noticed as I decided to take the roof tops not the road heading towards the enormous red gates. As I neared I saw Sakura's noticeable bubblegum pink hair and Kakashi's gravity defying mess standing talking to the gate guards.

I dropped into the square as a portly woman with too much make up, a scrunched up face and very nice traveling clothes turned to glare at me as did her two male assistants that rather reminded me of a crane and a toad.

'You are two hours late! How dare you, I cannot possibly be late for my meeting in Grass and now you by being so ignorant of others needs have made me late.' She snapped as I stood and rolled my eyes.

'Yea, yea. I'm an ignorant ninja who has no concept of how others may feel.' I brushed her off as Sakura openly gaped at me. The other three men seemed rather satisfied that I had simply brushed the conceited woman off. The woman floundered for a moment before opting to stay silent I turned to look at Kakashi. 'How long will this mission take us do you think?' I asked as Kakashi thought for a moment.

'Walking to grass will take the better part of a week or a week and a half depending on things like how far and how much we travel in a day and if we encounter any issues on the road.' I nodded.

We said goodbye to the gate guards Radio promising to take me out and show me how to get around town when we got back. I waved goodbye as they disappeared around a bend in the road.

Kakashi, Sakura and the woman we were escorting and her two assistants were bundled in thick jackets and gloves. I wore my coat open, in fact I was thinking of taking it off. It was about 15 Celsius and the weather was just perfect for me. The others seemed to be freezing.

'You can tell you're from a colder climate Yukiko-senpai' Sakura said as I glanced at her. She was blowing into her mitts to try to keep herself warm.

'Yea, I don't want to know how warm it gets here in the summer if you find this cold. When does the snow usually begin to fall here?' I asked as Sakura shrugged.

'Late November things finally start to freeze but usually we don't get snow until late December and it's almost always gone by March.' she said as I nodded.

'Where are you from Miss if you don't mind me asking' the toad assistant asked as I glanced at him.

'I'm from the village hidden in the Ice. I'm currently working for Leaf.' I stated as the man instantly went quiet.

'It is very nice to know we have such a skilled ninja escorting us!' he fumbled as I looked at Kakashi. He just rolled his one eye and kept walking.

'Uh, I guess you have no idea who that guy is then' I stated as the crane man gave a snort.

'No, why should we?' he asked haughtily as I wanted to strangle him right then.

'Well then, you should be much more polite in the presence of the Copy ninja' I said as the two men turned to look at Kakashi who was seemingly reading his porn as he walked. I knew he was listening in on our conversation as the side of his mask was pulled up in an almost smile like fashion.

'Miss Honda, Is it not pleasing that Konoha sent some of their best ninja on our trip?' The toad man gushed as I rolled my eyes. Pathetic. The woman didn't give any indication that she'd heard her advisors as we continued walking.

The route we were on was route 501 we were heading west through the trees at a pretty decent pace. Walking was so slow but there wasn't much we could do with our client.

I put my hands in my pockets enjoying the lush green scenery and birdsong. I was surprised at how well maintained the road was. It was easy that two carts could pass one another on this road with well enough clearance.

'So Yukiko-senpai is there anyone waiting for you back in the mountains?' Sakura asked rather randomly. A gust of wind blew my hair into my face as I scrambled to see again.

'No, no. There's nothing for me in Rin especially concerning men.' I said as Sakura smiled rather widely. I raised an eyebrow in question as she looped her arm through mine and towed me ahead.

I looked back at Kakashi I actually thought about asking him to help me. Then thought against it seeing as he was still absorbed in his porn. I rolled my eyes as Sakura took us out of hearing range of even Kakashi.

'So… do you like Kakashi-sensei?' Sakura whispered as I jumped. Where was this coming from?!

'No.' I stated plainly as Sakura looked rather cattily at me.

'Are you sure? A lot of women would give their left breast for him to notice them. He just never seems interested. Or if he is it never lasts very long and I can tell he has his eye on you' she whispered as I looked back at the Jounin who was talking to toad and crane man looking distinctly bored.

'Well I'm not giving my left breast for anything' I told Sakura frankly as she shrugged and looked back at her teacher.

'Just try being nice to the guy he's been through a lot and you never know.' Sakura gave me a wink 'Maybe those books he reads have taught him something' she giggled as I rolled my eyes.

'Right. Anyway how much slower are we going to go?' I muttered sighing as Sakura slowed down her pace so Kakashi could come back into hearing range.

'Kakashi-sensei Yukiko-senpai and I are going to check the perimeter.' She stated as Kakashi gave a nod. Sakura nodded as we disappeared into the trees on opposite side of the trees.

It felt great to run. I jumped from tree to tree keeping tabs on where Kakashi and the others were as I did a quick perimeter check on my side of the trail. There were a few travelers on a road heading north of us with a chounin escort but other than that there was nothing in the immediate area. It was wonderful to feel the wind rush past my face as Akane hit my back every time I landed on a branch. The group with Kakashi moved so slowly it was almost painful as I doubled back every few minutes to check on their progress.

I doubled back to notice that Kakashi and the group had stopped for a break. I landed in a tree close to the small clearing that Kakashi had picked for the short stop. The woman was sitting on a camp chair that someone had materialized from nowhere it seemed and was having toad man rub her feet.

I rolled my eyes and dropped down beside Kakashi as Sakura dropped to the ground across the clearing.

'Why have we stopped?' she asked as I sighed.

'We've only traveled 10 km I know and it's already sundown.' Kakashi muttered as I put my pack against a tree.

'We might as well camp here for the night there's no point in wandering around in the dark.' I stated as Kakashi followed me into the woods to collect firewood. The light was rapidly disappearing as I snapped some dead twigs from a tree and Kakashi picked up some fallen larger branches.

'This is taking forever' I muttered as I heard a 'hn' from Kakashi. I turned to look at him.

'How do you survive these types of missions?' I asked as he shrugged. He really wasn't all that talkative of a person was he?

'My other missions usually make up for these types of missions but hey these pay the bills' he stated as he broke a large branch in half.

'Yea that's true enough' I said as I pulled a few more twigs into my arms.

'Yukiko?' he asked as I looked at him. He walked over and closed the distance between us. I blinked, what was he doing? I looked up to see him as he looked down intently at me; he was so much taller than me I only came to his chin as he put his hand on my shoulder.

'Yes?' I asked cursing how strangled my voice sounded as he leant closer to me. I held my breath.

'You have a leaf in your hair' he stated as I dead panned. I fought down a growl as he pulled the offending flora out of my ponytail. He looked at me as I fought down the urge to punch him. 'There much better' he smiled as I sighed and walked back to the campsite not looking back to gage his reaction. That man was truly clueless unless he was deliberately trying to get a rise out of me. I shook my head, this was making my brain hurt as I saw the crane guy going through my pack.

'HEY!' I snapped jumping on him and had his arm against his back in a pin before he could think. 'Just what do you think you're doing?' I snarled as the man gave a pathetic whine.

'Miss Honda was hungry so we were looking for food to cook that was to her liking.' He whimpered as I let him go. He rubbed his shoulder where I had been putting pressure on it.

'Don't go into our packs.' I warned as Kakashi returned with his arms laden full of wood.

'Yes it's unwise to touch a ninja's package' he slid in the joke as I fought not to laugh at the bad joke. I walked past him to pick up my pack.

'Very true, nice wood by the way' I commented slyly that drew a chuckle from the tall jounin. I started making the fire as I heard rather loud complaints from out client in a rather grand tent that had been set up in the few minutes we had been in the woods. That's when I noticed Sakura was gone.

'Where's Sakura?' I asked as Kakashi set the larger branches beside me.

'She went to catch supper.' Kakashi stated as he made the symbols for a fireball jutsu before lighting the campfire rather spectacularly. Showoff.

'What are we eating?' Honda's voice made me jump as the fat woman glared up at me.

'Uh… food?' I stated as she gave me a dark look. Ah this trip would be fun; I loved pissing off people who thought they were high and mighty. Kakashi put a hand on my shoulder again and steered me away from the woman who looked like she might explode.

'We will be having wild game tonight Miss Honda' Kakashi said as I mocked him from behind. It earned me an elbow in the side as I stopped and glared at the trees across from me.

'Kiss ass' I whispered as Kakashi gave me a look.

'Yours anytime' he whispered back as I turned to openly gape at him. How dare he! He looked confused as I stood looking at him incredulously. 'Hey Sakura's back' he stated pointing to the pink haired girl as I blinked. What just happened?

'We're having partridge' Sakura said brandishing two distinctly dead birds in her hand.

'THAT'S DISGUSTING!" I heard Miss Honda shriek as I rolled my eyes.

'Oh please as if you haven't eaten partridge before. You just haven't seen it before it's been cleaned and cooked' I once again shot her hysterics down as Sakura looked rather `

'They look good Sakura' Kakashi said taking the two birds to be cleaned as he walked off in the direction I assumed was where a small brook ran. I walked over to the poor girl and sat her beside the fire with me. She looked rather ragged from her chase of the wild foul. I rummaged around in my pack for a water canteen. I held it out to her as she took a sip.

'It's alright Sakura. Some people just need to learn when they're being done a favour' I said a little too loudly as Miss Honda sniffed and looked away from us. I giggled at little at the extremely childish woman.

We sat in silence, staring at the fire as it seemingly caressed the logs that were held within it. The campsite was quiet except for the shifting around of Miss Honda and her toys as I decided they were. They really weren't assistants because this woman didn't need assistance, she needed a bloody babysitter.

Kakashi returned with the birds cleaned and skewered as I got up and made a little rotisserie spit over the fire. We didn't say anything as I returned to me seat in the dirt beside Sakura who still held my now half empty canteen. Kakashi rotated the birds every so often as the smell of cooked food stared to make me rather hungry. We ate in silence as well, it was odd. I enjoyed silence but it just seemed odd that Sakura and Kakashi didn't talk when they had been on a team for so long.

'This is dry and over cooked' Miss Honda complained as I shot her look.

'And you think your opinion matters why?' I snapped as she stood and glared at me. I was really getting sick of this prissy woman and fast.

'You should respect your elder's missy!' she hissed and pointed her finger at me as I just regarded her coolly. She really was too full of herself.

'I do, you're not one of them' I shot her down as her face turned an interesting shade of purple. Kakashi gave me a dark look as I gave him a try-me glance. Miss Honda stormed over to where I was sitting as the next thing I knew she attempted to kick me. I caught her ankle easily and looked up into her astonished face. 'Do not try my patience' I stated as icily as the winter mountain wind giving her ankle a slight squeeze. I released her ankle as she put her hands on her hips and pursed her lips. I took another bite out of my partridge as she returned to her luxurious tent fury written across her face.

'You really shouldn't harass our client Yukiko-senpai' Sakura muttered as I looked at the two of them completely stunned. They wanted me to bite my tongue and let her walk all over them. I looked at Sakura who had barely touched her food.

'So you would rather have her walk all over your good graces and efforts because she's a pampered priss and has never had to work a day in her life and cannot see outside of her narrow minded views on how the world works?' I asked as Kakashi looked rather impressed at my analytical skills of the woman.

'Now, now Yuki-san let us not be so blunt. Miss Honda has some very valuable insight into how the nobles run their households. She may not agree to our lines of work but at least she is willing to accept our services to escort her. The least you could do is attempt to be civil to her.' He stated as I sighed. This woman had no insight into the real world at all and the reason we were escorting her was really just for the sake of saying she had an official ninja escort home.

I shot Kakashi a look and he knew I wasn't buying a word of what he said. In truth I believe he didn't believe a word he said either. Ah diplomacy it was such a fickle thing.

'I am civil. She is not civil to the world there in I am not civil to people who are not civil to me.' I stated as Kakashi just put his head in his hands as I heard an enraged huff from the tent not far from us. I really didn't care if the client hated me or not. We didn't talk for the rest of the evening as Kakashi randomly watched me go about medial tasks around the campsite. He was a fairly quiet guy around me seemed chatty enough to Sakura but then again they were ona team together for years. I cimbed into my sleeping bag by the fire as Miss Honda's roaring snores echoed from her luxury tent. I rolled onto my side and looked at Kakashi who was taking the first watch in the tree above me.

'This is going to be a long trip' I sighed as All I got in return was a wink and a chuckle before I drifted off to sleep.


	4. ambush

The week passed by much too slowly for my liking. Miss Honda whining ever kilometer about her poor tiny feet and how she hoped she wasn't damaged from their march. I tried to keep my mouth shut and run more patrols than necessary to keep myself from retorting to her stupidity.

'We're almost there!' I sang and danced around our latest campsite. Only one more day until we reached the main village of grass and we could dump our boring diplomat to her more than likely equally boring husband I could have sung I was so happy.

'Only another 20 kilometers, if we get up early we'd easily be there by suppertime.' Kakashi said to Miss Honda as she seemed happy that this journey was nearly over. I flopped down beside Sakura and lounged against the trunk of one of the trees. It had been steadily getting cooler in the evenings I predicted that they'd get frost soon, maybe a touch of snow but nothing major that wouldn't melt in a few months.

'You look quite happy today Yukiko-senpai' Sakura commented as I proper my feet up on my pack.

'I am Sakura. Do you want to go fishing for supper with me?' I hummed as she nodded. Kakashi raised an eyebrow as I set my coat against my pack. It wasn't terribly cold only 15C but still it was a lot warmer than summer in the mountains that was for sure.

'Are you seriously going to go catch fish in this weather?' Kakashi asked as I gave him a well-what-else-would-i-be-doing look before looping my arm with Sakura's and marched off toward the river. The Long grass was a beautiful gold as we made our way through it; I enjoyed how warm the air was without being humid or too hot.

'Are you seriously going to go in that water?' Sakura asked as the river turned out to be more like stream with a rocky bottom. The water was clear and running well as I saw more than enough fish.

'Why not?' I said pulling off my pants, Akane, yukata, headband, boots and mesh shirt. As always I left more than enough weapons on my body to fend off any attacker. Plus all of the ones in my clothing still. It was a little cooler than I had expected as Sakura just stared at me.

'You're not going in that water. You'll get hypothermia!' she exclaimed as I ran and jumped into the cold water.

'HOLY LORD THAT'S COLD!' I yelled as Sakura looked like she was going to shit a brick. I swam towards a deeper pool as I saw the fish swimming just under the surface.

'Get out of that water! You're going to freeze!' Sakura ran along the bank like a lost puppy. I shot her an annoyed look,

'You're going to scare the fish stop thumping around on the bank' I commanded as she froze. I waited in the water as the fish swam closer to me allowing the warmer water to roll off of them. There was a big one just under my hand as I waited. My muscles were protesting at the cold and being in one place for so long. I waited; the fish swam near my hand as I put a burst of chakra into my arms. I grabbed four fish and tossed them onto the bank before the other fish noticed something was wrong and disappeared from view. I caught one last one and threw it on the bank.

I waded back to the shore as I noticed Sakura had cleaned the fish and had them hanging from a stick. They were decent sized fish almost a foot long each.

'Nice work Sakura' I said as she smiled. The air was much warmer than the water as I used a wind jutsu to blow a strong gust of southern air into the small clearing. It dried my off completely as I redressed myself.

'Wow' Sakura said behind me as I jumped. Her hair was in complete disarray as she attempted to fix it with a bit of river water. I stifled back a giggle as she managed to get her hair back into general form.

'Sorry about that' I smiled and took the fish from her. 'Ready to go?' I asked as she nodded and we headed back to camp. Halfway back something registered as wrong with me.

'So I told Sasuke that-' I put my hand over her mouth as she looked at me with confusion. I put a finger to my lips and motioned us off the path and into the small grove of trees that surrounded our campsite. I set the fish in the crotch of a tree as Sakura moved in beside me. We crept closer to the campsite as we heard distinct male voices. We suppressed our chakra and crept closer as we could peek into our campsite without being seen,

'Now for the last time tell me where your other ninja are Kakashi.' I looked at the man with black streaked hair that looked distinctly snake like hissed giving Kakashi a kick in the side. Kakashi was bound to a tree with what looked like a rather complex imprisonment jutsu.

'Go die Orochimaru' Kakashi spat as the snake man's yellow eyes seemed to harden.

'You little-' Orochimaru raised his arm as a larger man with jet black hair slicked into a ponytail down his back put an enormous hand over the snake man's raised fist.

'Now, now, we don't want to resort to violence' he stated as I looked at Sakura as if to ask if she knew him. She shook her head as I motioned for her to stay quiet as I moved back into the limited foliage. I made my way around the grove to the far side. I completely hid my chakra levels as I could still detect Sakura's slightly. I watched the scene before me. I needed to wait for an opportunity to attack and take both men off guard.

'Where does Konoha keep their forbidden Jutsu scroll?' The black haired man asked. His eyes were a steely colour. Hard and cold as Kakashi regarded him coolly it seemed.

'I have no idea' He stated bluntly as the man seemed to get a little bit more irritated as he looked at Orochimaru. The snake man nodded and drew up Miss Honda with a knife to her neck. The woman began screeching her head off as soon as she was grabbed from where she had been cowering behind her toys.

What an idiot that'll only get her killed faster!

'Stop screaming!' orochimaru growled as Honda immediately shut up and changed to whimpering pathetically. I pulled out two chakra disablers and two paper immobility seals. These would stop them for a few moments hopefully. Now to wait for an opening, I really wished I had my wooden dragon mask at this moment.

"I don't believe you Copy ninja Kakashi. Now tell me, where the scroll is or you client's death wont be the only thing you're dealing with.' He threatened as Kakashi just continued to look at him coolly.

'I have no idea where the scroll is kept' He stated again as I noticed the black haired man's back stiffen.

'Alright then Kakashi, I guess we will have to do this the hard way.' He seemed to brush off Kakashi's comment as I saw his rapid hand signals. I pushed Chakra into my eyes as suddenly the world around me exploded into brighter colours and suddenly I could see 360 degrees around me.

I Saw Kakashi buckle against the tree as red trickled down his chin. A smile slid its way onto the black haired man's face as his hand seemed to move as if he was squeezing something. Pain contorted across Kakashi's face as I felt for the guy. I could see his chakra flow being disrupted as it looked like another foreign chakra was attacking his organs like a giant fist.

'Now. Tell us where the scroll is' orochimaru spat as Kakashi looked up at the pair. Hatred was written on his face.

'I don't know where ARHHH!' Kakashi's retort ended in a scream as his body seemed to contort oddly. I needed to end this as I felt Sakura's chakra fire up. A chasm opened as Sakura appeared on the field. A smile split Orochimaru's face.

'Ah I was wondering which one of you children had tagged along. Now where is your other annoying friend?' He smirked as Sakura looked menacing.

'I am alone. Now let Kakashi-sensei go' She growled. Orochimaru grinned like a maniac as the black haired man seemed highly amused by the situation.

'You want me to let your teacher go little girl?' the black haired guy's voice was sweet. Sakura looked nervous but gave a nod. 'Fine' he let the Jutsu drop as Kakashi dropped to the ground. He didn't attempt to get up. Anger flooded through me as Sakura dodged a pathetic attack thrown at her but was caught in the second as she was slammed end over end into the long grass behind the grove of trees.

Damn, looks like it was up to me. I pushed chakra into all of my appendages at once and moved. I landed behind orochimaru and implanted a chakra control device on him. I moved backwards just in time to avoid a Shuriken thrown by the man with black hair. I drew Akane and blocked the rain of kunai thrown in my direction.

Orochimaru moved to attack me as I activated the chakra controller. His face contorted in a snarl of rage as I quickly depleted him of any chakra he had. A smirk wormed its way onto my face as I looked at the black haired man. He seemed rather impressed by me as I kept my chakra levels low as to fool him into thinking he had the advantage.

'Ah an ice ninja. How interesting. I don't think I've fought against one of you in a long time.' He was talking to himself. What a weirdo. I made the first move making myself move faster than the eye could see as he matched me. I attempted to hit him as he blocked with a kunai.

This guy was fast and dangerous. He was toying with me trying to see a weakness as I noticed him set a trap behind me with hidden senbon needles. I dropped Akane back in her sheath as I made the hand signals for one of the ice's hidden techniques. Dragon, boar, snake, rabbit, dragon, ram, snake, boar. My hands moved too fast for anyone to copy as I clapped my hands together then blew into them. Immediately a snowstorm whited out the area completely trapping the black haired man in a genjutsu.

I pulled a scenario out of my mind to attack with as I sunk into his subconscious layers pulling his technique he used on Kakashi back upon himself. At the last second a mental screen was thrown up so the full force of the jutsu wouldn't be used against him. I cursed him as a scream was torn from him as I heard his cursing followed by Orochimaru's. I could still see in the snow storm as I turned to go back to where Kakashi had fallen. I had taken three steps when something sunk into my shoulder. I turned and brought out Akane slicing someone's arm to the bone as a howl of pain reached my ears.

Orochimaru had gotten up and attacked me with a kunai when my back had been turned. I slammed my fist into his neck as he blocked my arm with his foot. So he could kick, cute trick. I turned my block into a grab as he grinned at me. I raised an eyebrow as I felt something hit my side. I looked down.

There was a snake biting me.

A dirty, huge, freaking snake.

I blinked. Then looked at Orochimaru who was wearing a stunning grin,

'You little fucker' I stated as I stabbed the snake biting me through the top of its skull. It hissed and writhed in the snow as I twisted Orochimaru's leg quickly satisfied as it made a loud crack as he dropped to one knee.

'This was an interesting meeting ice Kunoichi. Until we meet again' he stated as he seemingly disappeared as did the other man's chakra signal. Good I had scared them off.

I let the snow jutsu dissipate and stood. My side hurt terribly from that damned snake. I kicked it's dead body for good measure. Knowing my luck it was probably poisonous. The snow was melting rapidly as I made my way to Kakashi. He was unconscious as I rolled him over. Blood soaked the front of his mask as I pushed a little of my chakra into his body check for damages. His organs were damaged as if his entire body had been squeezed to the point of being crushed. I pushed some healing chakra into his body starting to mend some of the damage done to his organs.

'Yukiko-senpai!' I turned at Sakura's voice as I was enveloped into a hug.' Are you alright?' she asked checking me over as she noticed the kunai in my shoulder and the bites on my side. She pulled out the kunai as I bit back a few choice words as my shoulder throbbed. She fixed the wounds and even took out the majority of the poison using the melted snow around us.

'DAMMIT SAKURA THAT HURTS!' I roared as she pulled out more of the poison. My body was on fire as her chakra tracked the poison in my system.

'I know it attacks your nervous system so its going to burn like hell!' She snapped back as I looked at Kakashi. He was coming around slowly as Sakura finished up on me. She moved to sit beside Kakashi as we moved him into a sitting position.

'Am I dead?' I heard him mutter as Sakura let go letting him fall against me and hit my newly fixed side.

'no' I gritted out. DAAAAAAAMN THAT HURT! I winced as Kakashi gave a weak cough.

'Damn I thought I'd gone to heaven' he joked as I rolled my eyes. The guy gets his ass handed to him and still he can joke about it sheesh.

'That wasn't one of your better battles was it Kakashi-sensei' Sakura muttered as the jounin shrugged.

'They jumped me and managed to incapacitate me before I could use the shadow flicker technique' he said as Sakura continued her focus.

'That sucks. I beat their asses' I stated happily as Kakashi gave me an interested look.

'I wish I had seen it seeing as I would've loved to know how you conjured snow' he pointed to a rather large lump that was still melting in his hair. I laughed lightly my body still raw from Sakura's rush to get the deadly toxin out of my body.

'What did he do to you?' Sakura was aghast as Kakashi grunted when she pushed some of her chakra into him. 'I've never seen this kind of internal damage before' Sakura muttered to herself as I felt Kakashi stiffen again in pain. I knew how bad his internal organs were damaged. It would be at least a week for both of us before we could fight accurately again. Damn that dirty great snake. I rolled my shoulder as the new skin felt weird against the old cut. Oh well, one less problem to worry about.

'Um…are you alright?' I looked up to see toad man standing off to our left he looked pale and shaken but fine for the most part. I glanced at us and gave him a resigned look.

'For the most part yes.' I stated as he nodded. Miss Honda and crane man came out from hiding behind some trees. I released a breath I didn't know I had been holding at least I didn't have to track them down and rescue our client from them. Miss Honda looked quite shaken as Kakashi pressed back against me as Sakura fixed a rather beaten area.

'Fuck' he hissed through his teeth as Sakura gave him an apologetic look. I gently rubbed the muscles along his taught neck and shoulder line infusing a little chakra into my fingers as an anesthetic. It wasn't much but he relaxed a little more at my touch as Sakura worked diligently on saving his life.

'Should we go get help?' Miss Honda asked as I looked at them and shook my head.

'No, it's dark and you'd only get lost on your way there. I have a better plan. Bring me my pack.' I stated remembering the little paper messenger birds tucked into one of the pockets.

Crane man tottered off and returned with my bag. I pulled out one of the cranes. It was a nice looking piece of origami I wrote a little help letter giving our rough coordinates and situation. Refolding the little crane I tucked a little wind chakra into it then blew it into the air. It took a second before the tiny object zoomed out of the grove and into the night its tiny paper wings flapping madly.

'And now we wait' I muttered and went back to attempting to make Kakashi feel better. He let out another hiss as Sakura moved her hands higher onto his body. There wasn't much said before Sakura removed her hands and swayed. 'Lie down Sakura' I commanded as she nodded and put her head on the ground. Silly girl was using too much of her chakra attempting to fix her teacher.

There was a rustle of trees as I was immediately on my feet with Akane drawn as five grass ninja walked into the clearing. They raised their hands showing they meant no harm as one of the bowed to Miss Honda. I sheathed my sword and smiled at them

'We got your note. We can take you all back to the village, we'll have to radio ahead. Can he walk?' he pointed to Kakashi. I shook my head as Sakura was nearly unconscious on the ground and one of the jounin lifted her bridal style. I moved to Kakashi and told him to climb on. He looked confused as I rolled my eyes.

'You cannot possibly walk and I'm going to save a bit of your pride. You can a ride from me or one of those guys' I stated as Kakashi nodded as I helped him to his feet. He groaned and fell heavily against me as I managed to hold him up. 'Here' I crouched as he managed to climb onto my back without too much effort. I stood and noticed his feet just skimmed the ground as his arms reached just to my chest. He wasn't too heavy, a decent weight that was for sure around 200 pounds give or take.

'Ready?' one of the grass ninja asked as I nodded. They had collected all of our belongings and moved us quickly. I jumped from tree to tree having to use a little more of my chakra because of Kakashi's extra weight.

'Thank you yuki-san' Kakashi whispered as I gave his legs a squeeze in recognition. A few minutes later he had passed out falling limp as I readjusted my hold to keep him from falling.

We reached the village without any incidents and Miss Honda made it to her home earlier than expected much to her husband's misfortune I presumed. Kakashi's dead weight was getting unbearable as I pushed more chakra into my muscles. The neurotoxin that was left in my body was starting to affect my lungs. I gasped trying to get in air as my muscle started to relax. This was bad, very, very bad. One of the guards noticed my change in breathing as he approached me.

'Are you alright?' he asked as I shook my head.

'No, neurotoxin from a snake bite is affecting my lungs' I gasped as suddenly Kakashi's weight was lifted from my back as I was swept into a pair of arms. I focused on breathing not on the chaos of movement around me. I had to keep breathing, oxygen was good it kept the body alive. Curse that snake man!

Suddenly the face of a nurse was in my view as my ears couldn't make out what she was saying everything was muted and her face came in and out of focus. There was more talking as I was put on a stretcher. Wait, where was Sakura and Kakashi? I tried to turn to look as I realized how progressive the toxin was. All of my muscles were starting to relax. I panicked memories of my patrol's massacre flashed before my eyes as I attempted to bite back the memories. There was so much blood. Red on white. Red, red, everywhere red, red clouds on black cloaks, red blood, Akio's red hair lying on white. I couldn't breathe I felt like I was being smothered then darkness swallowed me.


	5. whips and chains!

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Wow that noise was incredibly annoying.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Would someone shut that off? I was TRYING to SLEEP!

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

I opened my eyes to look at the heart monitor keeping a steady rate on my heartbeat. What had happened? I wracked my brain as I looked around the small hospital room. Ah yes, the fight and the snake bite. I'm glad I killed that sucker.

The room was small and washed white with silver metal accents. I could see the foot of a bed beside mine but it was blocked by a curtain. I had a window and it looked like early morning as I heard light snoring from the bed beside me.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Twitch. Twitch. Twitch. Twitch. Twitch.

My eye started along to the stupid noise that was following my heart rhythm. I turned to look at the machine. Maybe it was the drugs I was on but my body was incredibly heavy and weak. Damn those toxins. I shifted to the side of my bed where the machine was and grabbed the leads that were affixed to my chest. The monitor picked up speed as I heard footsteps outside of the door.

I pulled the wires causing the machine to fall as the door opened.

'DIE EVIL MACHINE!' I screamed throwing the machine to the floor attempting to smash it then cursed as the leads stuck to my skin and pulled rather painfully.

'What the hell?!' Sakura's voice made me look up with a grin. She was carrying two trays of food as the machine still made muffled beeping sounds as I attempted to unsnarl myself from the 8 leads that were stuck to my body. My hands were slapped away as Sakura righted the fallen machine and turned the volume down so it wasn't so annoying.

I looked at her as she set the tray on a table at the foot of my bed. I heard shifting from the bed beside me as Sakura drew the curtain back. Kakashi turned his head to look at me with an eye smile. His face was covered by a surgical mask as I groped my own face to find that my neck was wrapped in gauze to my chin and my face was also covered by a surgical mask.

I sighed and leant back against my bed as Sakura took a seat on my bed and looked at me rather concerned.

'You gave us a scare. You stopped breathing and your heart stopped beating three times. Plus before you passed out you started clawing at your neck and chin.' Kakashi said as I blinked and looked at him. He looked concerned as the beep. Beep. Beep. Of the heart machine showed that I was more than okay.

'Wow. How long have I been out?' I asked as Kakashi shrugged. Sakura still looked a little shaken.

'From what I've been told I was out for about three days. That was roughly a week ago.' He said as I looked down at my hands. My body was incredibly weak I doubted I could stand and I had been unconscious that long it meant that the toxin had really done damage to my nervous system. I knew it wouldn't take me long to get back to normal but it would be at least another week before I could handle traveling.

Kakashi got out of bed and rummaged in his pack by his bed. He pulled out some clothes and disappeared into our little en suite bathroom. I looked at Sakura as a doctor in blue scrubs came into our room.

'Oh good you're awake!' the older woman bustled over to my bed. I was patient as she gave me a brief check to make sure I was alright. 'Well everything seems fine with out inside and out' she said as Sakura smiled. It was good news. 'But, you'll have to take it easy for a week or so when you get back home. Your muscles won't respond as readily for a while because of the slight damage and we're not sure if it has damaged anything in your brain because of the hysteria you went into before you passed out.' She stated as I looked at myself.

'I feel fine, save for being sore and having fatigue from my muscles weakness. Nothing seems to be damaged in my brain as far I know.' I stated as Kakashi reappeared fully dressed with his face mask and forehead protector in place.

'There on test we ninja have.' He stated as he came to stand beside the bed. Sakura nodded as I nodded. He was talking about the mind invasion jutsu. It was incredibly hard to do not only physically but mentally because in that single moment your entire subconscious, memories, and who you are is open for them to look at.

'Well your brain looks fine from a physician's point of view. No hemorrhaging or damage to any part really. You were very lucky.' The doctor signed off on some papers and gave me a smile. 'You're free to go' she said as I nodded. She removed the evil heart monitor as Sakura handed me some clothes from my bag.

'Should we check my subconscious if they say there's no visible damage?' I asked as Kakashi looked at Sakura. The girl sighed and sat on the bottom of my bed with her legs crossed.

'The neurotoxins if they've caused damage would show in particular patterns on the outside of the brain and you would have a harder time remembering things and such. But at the same time it could've caused internal damage to I guess what you would call your soul part of your brain. It wouldn't hurt to check but I don't know the jutsu.' Sakura said as I took in a breath and looked at the silver haired jounin. Did I really want him to know everything about me? All the way back to my first memory? Even all of the horrid memories I suppressed after the massacre? The answer was simple, I needed to know if this poison had augmented something or caused damage that was unseen to medical chakra.

'We need to do this. I don't want to become a raving lunatic because of damage done by some nerve receptor blocking proteins' I stated as Kakashi gave a nod to Sakura. She got off of the bed as Kakashi took her place.

We looked at each other as he pushed his forehead protector up to reveal his left eye had an enormous scar down the centre of it. Was he blind in that eye? I wondered as it suddenly snapped open. I jumped him; had the sharingan. I blinked rapidly. How did he-? My mind reeled as I was thrown back to my training days with my sensei and his fierce red sharingan eyes.

'Are you alright Yukiko-senpai?' Sakura asked as I floundered.

'Sharingan?' I squeaked as Kakashi gave a sad chuckle.

'It was a present from a fallen comrade' he said no more as I noticed the three commas spin slightly fixing on me. I pushed back my instinct to defend myself as I felt a calm wash over me. I cured the effects to the sharingan. They could make anyone feel what the person wanted them to. Fear, anger, lust, calm, passion, lonely, all of these were possible as waves of calm seemed to wash gently over me.

I would not show them my gift. My own eye talent that turned my eyes blood red with three white sickles that made a circle instead of my pupil which seemed nonexistent normally in my eyes, that was only for missions.

'Ready?' Kakashi asked as I nodded. The sharingan fixed on me as I saw his rapid hand signals before the palm of his hand touched my forehead. Immediately a rush of memories flooded to the front of my mind. There were a few I knew I didn't want anyone to see as he quickly sifted through them. I felt myself move as suddenly I wasn't getting my memories anymore.

This was interesting. Kakashi hadn't done the jutsu right. He had opened up both of our minds to one another so that we both could dive into the others memory.

I raced through them. Kakashi in school, honours student at 6, training and meeting a little dog named Pakkun. His father's suicide. Training until he could forget the shame of his father and the wrath of his mother. Jounin at 13, his first team. Rin, Obito, the mission where Obito died. Kakashi's sharingan. Kakashi's life realization of his own ninja way. The ninja dogs. Anbu. There was so much death and destruction that followed Kakashi in his anbu years. It was worse than my own. I shut myself off to the killing where as Kakashi took notes on their techniques and analyzed their moves remembering every gory detail. I was pulled away to witness the death of his teacher, Rin, the third hokage, Sasuke's betrayal of the village. The hopelessness he felt. The loneliness. There was happiness too like with team 7 and their misadventures. Seeing his team grow and mature. Pride and warmth of his students. He was proud of Naruto and Sakura. Disappointed and hurt by Sasuke. Tired of the same old routines. Resigned to die on a mission alone without a family.

I pulled back as I noticed he had progressed to my memories of my teacher. I knew I couldn't remove his image so I obscured his face instead leaving Kakashi to see my memories of him without his face.

I swam in Kakashi's subconscious. The porn seemed as if it were merely for shock value although there were a few parts he seemed to enjoy that were too hard core. He loved his dogs I noticed as he had long memories of walking and talking to them. There were more memories of a few women's faces and strong emotions of love attached to them but they all seemed to disappear in horrible accidents or on missions. I saw him standing for hours in front of a memorial stone mourning for all he had lost and everyone he had ever cared about. Him reliving all of the pains and mistakes and scenarios he could have changed had be been a second faster, a second ahead in plan and the horrible outcomes that he had witnessed.

Then there was nothing. I blinked rapidly as I noticed Kakashi had pulled back breathing hard as he put his head into his hands. I felt a memory nagging at the back of my mind as I pulled it up. It was the day my patrol had died, all but my teacher and myself.

'Kakashi-sensei?' Sakura put a hand on her teacher's shoulder as he shook his head and stood. He put a hand on Sakura's shoulder before he left the room. Sakura and I shared a look as she shrugged and produced some clothing that looked suspiciously like a spare of Kakashi's clothing.

'Where are my clothes?' I asked as Sakura showed me my bag. It was quite literally soaked in mud and was torn in multiple places. I was aghast. 'What happened to it?' I asked taking my mauled bag from her.

'It was caught in the cross fire of the fight and was mauled a little' she smiled apologetically as I took the bag and rummaged around in it. Sakura set Akane beside me as I immediately felt better. I felt the coolness of my wooden mask in my pack as I pulled it out and slid it on, leaving it on the top of my head.

I swung my legs off the side of the bed and put them on the floor. I looked at Sakura as she set my clothes on the bed and left the room. I felt her waiting outside in case I had trouble. I pulled down my dragon mask and removed my surgical mask from underneath it. I unwrapped my neck and checked it in my pocket mirror of my bag. The long silver scars from my patrol's murder still stood out like long silver veins that were now crossed over with scabbed red lines from where my nails had scraped off skin. It was minimal damage and I knew it wouldn't scar. I pulled on Kakashi's spare tank mask to find his covered much more than mine ever did as I pulled my hair out of the shirt. My chest was wrapped in bandages as was my side from where my shoulder and back had been wounded as I pulled on the navy sweater with the crazy red swirly symbol on the side. I held up the pants. These were not going to fit me. Firstly the legs were much too long and secondly this guy was freaking skinny!

I rummaged through my bag again and found a rather unscathed pair of my own pants and pulled them on. I left the hospital gown on my bed and put Kakashi's pants in my bag. I pushed my mask up and pulled out my white coat. It was completely fine without any dirt or rips in it. I put it on and decided to try and stand.

I put weight on my feet and stood as I felt my legs wobble and the muscles protested at having to bear weight in their recovering state. I took a step as my legs decided they didn't want to hold me up anymore.

'SHIT!' I grabbed for the first thing which happened to be the evil heart monitor. It would definitely not hold anyone up as I went to the floor with a crash. The machine's wires tangling around me.

Well that was a smart idea. My mask slid off my head as Sakura and Kakashi burst into the room looking for me.

'Down here!' I waved as they both looked at me. I waited as Sakura stared laughing as I joined in. It was rather random as Kakashi even cracked an eye smile. He helped me to my feet as my legs wobbled dangerously, then gave out as I crashed into his chest. DAMMIT! I was rather embarrassed as he laughed and Sakura took my other arm allowing me to lean on them more than walk as we made it out of the hospital.

The small town we were in was quite pretty with little homes with flower boxes on the windows and wrought iron fences and balconies. I looked at my companions as my legs continued to protest at the movement as my arms were starting to get tired.

'Guys, I need to sit down for a second.' I said as we stopped at a bench outside of a small store. I sunk down as Sakura disappeared inside to get some supplies before we left. Kakashi passed my Akane and my pack as I put them both on my back.

'This is going to be tedious if you have to help me walk the whole way' I said as Kakashi sat beside me.

'We'll see how it goes until we get out of the village' Kakashi said as I raised an eyebrow. He certainly was defensive as I clued in. I noticed Sakura was no where near coming out of the store yet as I looked at him.

'Which one of my memories bothered you?' I asked as he glanced at me. I waited as we had a staring contest. He broke it by looking away, the entire atmosphere shifted it seemed as he relaxed and leant his elbows on his knees.

'I never thought I would meet someone who's past is similar to my own. It just seemed like, I don't know, so impossible to keep going for so long now. Then you popped up and from what I saw. You might just be the right person to collide with me' he said softly as I nodded. He was right a great deal of what he went through was similar to his own.

I put my hand on his knee and smiled. He gave me a crinkled eye smile.

'Things will get better Kakashi-san you'll see.' I grinned as he ruffled my hair. I pouted as he laughed outright at my expression. Maybe he wasn't so bad as I had thought.

'Alright lets go!' Sakura grinned as I attempted to stand. Everyone moved out as I took three steps and low and behold my legs gave out and down I went.

'DAMMIT, CURSE YOU SNAKE MAN AND YOUR EVILNESS!' I yelled as people gave me weird looks before Kakashi doubled back to help me up.

'Here.' He crouched down and indicated for me to climb onto his back. I blinked.

'uh, are you going to carry me?' I asked as he gave me an uh-duh look as I climbed on. He stood as I tried to keep distance between his back and my chest as to not make it awkward.

'Uh Yukiko-san, you're choking me' Kakashi teased as I leant into his back to release my hold on his neck. This guy was enjoying this after our little heart to heart moment on the bench.

'Do you think Sasuke will be excited to see me when we get back?' Sakura asked as I rolled my eyes. Did she EVER stop talking about that kid?

'No, he's probably jacking off right now to cheap porn because you're not there to model for him' I muttered as Kakashi burst out laughing. I grinned as Sakura looked at us innocently.

'What?' she asked as I grinned.

'Nothing Sakura-chan I was telling Kakashi-san that I think he better watch out because there's some girls back home that have their eye on him' I giggled as Kakashi gave a rather forced laugh. Sakura didn't take any notice as she continued to prattle on about her Sasuke-kun. I rolled my eyes at least she was easier to tune out than Miss Honda had been.

We took to running Kakashi in the lead as I put my mask back on. It saved me from getting branches and bugs in the face as he ran.

'So Yuki-senpai what are you going to do back home?' Sakura asked.

'I'll probably sit around the house and get fat seeing as I can't move. Either that or I'll make Kakashi my slave and make him get me stuff and beat up our roommates.' I said offhandedly as Kakashi actually turned around and looked at me.

'Your slave?' He questioned as I grinned.

'Whips and chains and all!' I snickered as Kakashi misjudged the distance to the next branch and tripped. I grabbed the front of his vest as he flipped and landed on his feet. I was still clutching to his vest as Sakura dropped beside us in a fighting stance.

'What is wrong Kakashi-sensei?' she hissed quietly as Kakashi stood.

'Nothing. I thought I heard something but I was mistaken' he said taking off into the trees again. I was glad for my mask as a huge grin covered my face. Maybe harassing Kakashi would be hilarious seeing as it was so easy.

We traveled in silence covering three times the distance easily in one day that with Miss Honda. In reality it would only be a two day travel back to Konoha.

'Woot attempting to walk!' I cheered as Kakashi let me off of his back. I took two steps and had to rely on a tree for support. Kakashi laughed at my pathetic attempt as I took another four steps to a different tree.

'Don't hurt yourself Yukiko-senpai!' Sakura fretted as I waved her off and crossed our tiny campsite. Roughly 12 steps before I crashed into another tree.

'Yuki?' Kakashi asked with concern as I grinned.

'I'm fine!' I said and walked back across the site. This time it didn't take nearly as long for me to cross it or with much difficulty. "YES GO ME!' I cheered as I tripped over my own pack and fell, rolling head over heels and managing to stand up at the end.

Sakura clapped as I walked back without a great deal of trouble and sat down beside the fire. Kakashi handed me a piece of a bird he had caught while I was wandering around attempting to strengthen my body.

It was really good as I spooned myself some soup he had also made. Kakashi turned out to be a really good cook even in the woods as I sat and laughed at some of Sakura's funny moments with Naruto and her Sasuke-kun.

'And then Naruto actually walked into the girls showers!' Sakura laughed.

'No way!' I laughed as Kakashi chuckled. 'He actually tried to walk into the girls shower with his sexy jutsu?' I laughed as Sakura nodded. I roared with laughter. 'I'll have to learn that jutsu but in the male form for reconnaissance missions' I stated as Kakashi looked at me.

'That's actually a really good idea' he stated as I nodded and laughed. Take Kakashi to make something into a tactical plan. I lay back onto my bedroll and sighed.

'We should get some sleep. We can get home tomorrow and you can take to making Kakashi-sensei your slave Yuki-chan' Sakura giggled at the last part as I smiled.

'Yea stick and stones may break our bones but whips and chains excite you guys' I yawned as Another round of laughter went around the campsite and Kakashi toppled over from a rather large nosebleed.

Sakura and I collapsed into laughter before heading in for the night still giggling at Kakashi's plight.

The next morning broke early as I put my mask back on and managed to get on Kakashi's back without Sakura's help even though my muscles were protesting at their over use from the day before.

'So Yuki-chan, where did you get such an intricate design for an ANBU mask?' Sakura asked as I ran my hand over the white, black and blue dragon mask. It was carved wood and had a great deal of pieces that could get damaged if I wasn't paying attention in a battle. In fact some of the wooden whiskers and paint had already been chipped and half a whisker gone completely.

'Well when we graduate to full assassin status we get a mask, much like your ANBU does I assume. But the change with us is that depending on how well you do on the final exams and your grade you could say that you pass with determines the type of mask you get. The higher the mark the more intricate the mask but all colours on the masks are the same but in different patterns so that only other Rin assassins know who is who.' I said as Sakura nodded.

'It is much like ANBU but our masks are so much plainer than yours. We don't have a system much like yours. Other than if you make ANBU you're in ANBU and have to get a tattoo on your right shoulder if you're female and left shoulder if you're male. Do you have anything like that to determine gender?' Sakura seemed intrigued by everything I did in my past to become and assassin as I leant more against Kakashi.

'We have a tattoo as well but for us it really isn't necessary because of the cold climate I come from. It is mandatory for assassins like me to have them though because I travel so vastly. My tattoo is actually behind my right ear hidden, its on the left for men in Rin so that it isn't obvious to enemy ninja if we're undercover. Sadly your tattoos are flags just asking for you to get beaten.' I pointed to the slightly visible red tattoo through her mesh shirt. She blushed as I pulled back my hair to show her the tattoo. It was very simple really a diamond with the centre missing with a black S cut through it and the character for Dragon was written behind my other ear. I also showed her that one.

'So Yuki-san what level is dragon?' Kakashi asked as I grinned. He was a fast learner and could keep up. I was wondering when Sakura would ask that question.

'Let's just say There is only one level higher than dragon and it is called kamikaze. You must run a flawless test in order to achieve kamikaze and there is only 2 people in the entire history of Rin to ever achieve that honour.' I said as both didn't speak for a moment.

'Then you nearly ran a flawless test, what happened?' Kakashi asked as I looked back at Sakura.

'My genjutsu slipped for a second and I was punched through a wall before I could recover with a paralyzing jutsu.' I said still cursing myself over that. One moment of stupidity that I knew had been coming and had seen and still screwed it up.

'Ah, that's quite an advanced level to be able to recover from a broken genjutsu so fast. Without being caught in a genjutsu or ninjutsu right after.' Kakashi sounded impressed. I guessed it was as close as I'd get to praise from the man. I smiled.

'Well I still got the highest honour of my class' I said remembering graduating day where I got my mask and was assigned my squad and got my flak jacket.

'Are you wearing all of your gear right now or do you have more?' Sakura asked as I turned to look at her.

'No I only have my mask and cloth mask with my sword. I have a chest plate, special leggings and special boots that are back at the house. I don't bring those unless it's a really dangerous mission. I guess I should've brought it on this one.' I joked as we all chuckled.

The rest of the trip was rather silent as we made it to the enormous red gates at sundown. The two usual guards were present both mowing down on bento boxed suppers as we gave a wave to them.

'Tsunade wants to talk with you after you've dropped her off at the hospital.' Raido said as Kakashi gave a nod. Sakura went straight to the Hokage's office as Kakashi allowed me to use him as a crutch. My legs were stronger than they had been two days ago but walking was still a pain as I collapsed onto a bench.

'Still not up to walking distances yet?' Kakashi asked as he sat beside me his trademark book out in front of him.

'Nope and running is definitely out of the question. Maybe the medics here will be able to patch me up better than in grass.' I said as Kakashi continued to read. I looked at him, he didn't seem to have of heard me as I gave him a poke in the side. He jumped and looked at me as I stifled a laugh.

'I take it it's a good book?' I asked as he helped me to my feet once again.

'One of my favourites' he said as we passed the bridge that led back to the house. We walked past it straight into the hospital's emergency entrance. There were various people in the waiting room some that seemed to be sick or others that had sprains or possible breaks. Kakashi walked me up to the desk to a pretty nurse that looked extremely busy as she fussed with patient files.

'Excuse me, but the Hokage sent me here with an injured ninja.' He said rather seductively as I glanced at him through my mask. What was he up to?

'Oh Kakashi-san!' The red head giggled as she gave him a sassy look. I blinked, what the-? 'I so rarely see you in here. Taking good care of yourself I hope' she teased as she leant forward so that the top of her shirt fell more open so not only could I but Kakashi also had a good view of her 'goods.'

Uh god this was getting sickening. Especially with Kakashi keeping a straight, bored expression throughout the whole ordeal.

'Only the best of care Miss Fujimoto, but if you would care to inspect for any injuries I may have-' I stepped on Kakashi's instep none too lightly as he gave a slight grunt of pain as I snickered under my mask covering it with a cough. 'Any who I need for someone to check over my lovely teammate from our trip to Grass it seems she sustained some damage from neurotoxins in snake venom.' He said as I let go of his arm. The girl looked at me with a heated look. I blinked, and looked down at myself. I was still bandaged rather tightly to prevent my wounds reopening as I noticed my chest had been nearly hidden by my four layers of clothing Kakashi had given me.

'Certainly, we'll get someone to give him a check up right away' she giggled as I cleared my throat.

'Sorry Miss, I'm a girl and I don't swing that way. Sorry for any inconvenience.' I said as her face flushed bright red and she disappeared around the side of the counter in a flash. I burst out laughing as Kakashi gave me an irritated glance. I stopped as he let me drop to the floor. 'Jerk' I muttered as I stood on my own, leaning on the counter for support. He put his hands in his pockets and regarded me coolly.

'Oh come on, you weren't going to sleep with her. Remember I've seen the memories.' I stated as Kakashi sighed and shook his head.

'What if I felt like changing that fact?' he stated as I looked at him with disbelief.

'Bullshit' I stated as his face seemed to crack into a smile.

'Ha ha, you got me there Yuki-san I doubt I'll ever bother to date anyone' he stated sadly as I rolled my eyes. Dammit, there it was the survivor's guilt I had seen him suffering in his memories. He just couldn't pull himself out of it no matter how hard he seemed to try. Blaming himself for the other's deaths. I felt bad for the guy but at the same time angry and wanted to shake him for not trying to get over his problems and reach out to people instead of burying all of the pain inside of himself wher in reality the circumstances were out of his hands. Kakashi was like a big puzzle block it seemed with hundreds of little pieces that were so entangled it would take a genius to unravel his puzzle. He had so many layers, as stupid as it sounded it was true. And there was only one thing to do about it.

I put my hand on his arm as he looked up at me. I grinned under my mask.

'I guess we'll have to change that fact' I stated as he gave a rather bitter un-Kakashi like laugh.

'I highly doubt there's much you could change about me yuki-san' he stated as I stomped on his instep. He let out a yelp and grabbed his foot. Some people turned to look as he gave me a glare.

'not with that attitude I cant but we'll work on that' I said as Ino rounded a corner wearing scrubs and carrying a clipboard.

'Hey Yukiko-senpai!' she called as she came over. She glanced through the file in front of her. I assumed it was mine as a stretcher came around the corner. A petite blue haired girl wheeled it over.

'Are you looking after me Ino-chan?' I asked as she flashed me a smile.

'Yes I am before the others come to do most of the healing on your nerves. Now Kakashi-sama it seems that you are also needing a brief checkup. Reah, please escort Kakashi-sama to room 502 please' Ino helped me to the stretcher as the blue haired girl escorted a rather helpless and slightly frightened looking Kakashi to an elevator. Kakashi, scared? That didn't seem to fit unless… it clicked.

'Ino-chan, is Kakashi-san afraid of hospitals?' I asked as Ino shrugged.

'I don't know I've never worked on him during my internship here. Usually when he comes in Sakura or Tsunade-dono works on him because he's so beaten up he's barely alive which thankfully is rarely' she said pushing the stretcher into a room off of the side of the corridor.

She set a mask over my nose and mouth.

'Count backwards from ten and when you wake up you'll be able to walk again.' She smiled as I laughed.

'You guys really get down to business here.' I said as I felt the anesthetic starting to take affect as I got sleepier and sleepier.

'Sleep well yukiko-senpai' Ino smiled as I let the anesthetic work its magic.

Authors note: hey guys thanks for all of the hits and traffic I've got coming through on this story. If you have any questions about honourifics or something in my story don't hesitate to send it through a review. Really, I don't bite, but try not to flame me I'm writing this fanfiction purely because there aren't enough kakashixOC fictions to satiate my need for them haha! If you know of any good fictions in this category please review me with their title it would be much appreciated! Any who I'll keep writing diligently! -Demonica


	6. SUPRISE!

'But Kaaaaaakaaaaashiiiiii-senseeeeeeeeeeeei I wanna wake her up now. Why do we always have to wait?' Naruto's whiney voice woke me from a rather pleasant slumber as I blinked awkwardly at the bright light filtering into my room from the open window.

'Because patience is a virtue, both of which you lack' Sakura huffed as Kakashi gave an amused chuckle.

'Now Sakura' he chided as the pink haired girl crossed the room to my bed and checked what I assumed was my IV line.

'HEY SHES AWAKE!!' Naruto hollered as suddenly there was a group of people huddled around my bed. I blinked, what was going on?

I recognized Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi, Ino, Temari, and Hinata. Beside them was a boy who looked like Hinata, a guy in green spandex like Gai, a boy with a dog on his head and a pudgy boy munching on a bag of potato chips.

'Uh…. Hi?' I said as the dog boy sniffed me. I blinked; this was too weird for me.

'Is it true that you fair maiden bested Orochimaru the evil snake in battle?!' the boy in green spandex asked as I nodded.

'Yea, that's why I'm in this bed and had my nerves repaired from the neurotoxin' I stated as everyone seemed really impressed by me. Kakashi left the group of young people and chose to lean against the window frame instead.

'How did you do it?" Naruto asked as Sasuke regarded me with an icy expression. It seemed he didn't like the fact that I had bested the evil snake. I wondered why.

'That is a secret Naruto. A ninja never reveals her jutsus' I said as the boy looked crestfallen. I ruffled his hair. 'But I could show you a cool technique to make snow' I said as he immediately brightened.

'Ok!' he grinned as Hinata blushed and put her head down. I laughed as it quickly turned into coughing before a glass of water was shoved under my nose. I thanked Sakura as I used my super speed jutsu to down the water before any of them could see my face.

'Ah much better' I sighed as everyone blinked.

'You're like Kakashi-sensei with your speed, that's so unfair!' Naruto whined as Sakura smacked him over the head.

'If you spent more time training and less time whining you could know all of these jutsus too you idiot!' Sakura roared as I put a hand on her arm. She calmed immediately as Naruto cowered under my bed from her wrath.

'Now when can I le-' the door slammed open as the hokage stormed into the room looking absolutely furious. I gulped as everyone looked startled.

'EVERYONE OUT!' she bellowed as everyone booked it out the door. She caught three people before they could make an escape. Sasuke, Hinata and the boy who looked like Hinata. Kakashi remained statuesque by the window as I pulled my knees up to my chest. This woman scared the crap out of me; there was something about her that I just did not want to mess with.

'I have some rather interesting news.' I felt the ANBU guard's chakra levels outside of the door as she waved some papers in front of me.

I blinked. Everyone else looked at one another.

'What is it Hokage-dono?' the boy who looked like Hinata asked as Tsunade looked at me with a sigh.

'Some news I hope that I'd never be revealing.' She said as the door opened and a man who looked much like Hinata walked into the room. 'Afternoon Hyuuga-san' she greeted as the man looked at the hokage rather confused. Then he looked at me and his eyes went wide. I blinked, what was going on?! The tension was about ready to snap as Kakashi put his hand on my shoulder. I hadn't realized this but I was actually shaking.

'Maybe this isn't a good time Hokage-dono, Yukiko-san is just recovering from an intense healing session' Kakashi stated as Tsunade looked really sorry about the news she had.

'I'm sorry Kakashi but I've out this off long enough and after I was faxed these results from the lab I had no choice but to address this issue. The elders are already talking as are some of the other older people in Konoha.' She stated as I looked at Kakashi, he gave my shoulder a squeeze as Sasuke came to sit on the end of my bed.

'What does this have to do with me?' he asked as I wanted to kick him. That kid needed to learn some manners and respect for others.

'Oh this has to do with you alright you little traitor' she snapped as Hinata's father I assume grabbed the papers from Tsunade. His face paled as he read before handing the papers back. What did those papers say! I wanted to know so badly but it would be bad for to use my eye technique in front of all of these people.

'Well, Sasuke and Hinata it turns out that because of someone's blunder you actually have an older sister and her name is Yukiko' Tsunade's statement froze the whole room. My mouth dropped open as everyone turned to look at me.

'What the fuck?!' The Male Hinata exclaimed as he looked at Tsunade.

'You have to be kidding' Sasuke muttered. Hinata fainted. Kakashi gave my shoulder a squeeze as I floundered and Hinata's father looked at me coldly.

'I am not Kidding' she said as Sasuke grabbed the papers from her and read through them. Hinata's father was now going red as he glared at Kakashi and I then jabbed a finger at Kakashi.

'Your father really was pathetic. He couldn't even carry out a mission to get rid of an abomination properly!' He sneered as I grabbed the man's hand.

'Do. Not. Talk. To Him. Like. That. Do you understand me? Am I correct in assuming you slept with Sasuke's mother and I was the end result?' My mind was racing trying to make connections as I twisted the man's hand rather painfully.

'Let him go Yuki-san' Kakashi's voice was quiet as I let his hand go. The man rubbed where I had been holding. I hoped it bruised.

'Now everyone calm down. There is an explanation needed.' Tsunade said as four angry pairs of eyes turned to look at her.

'You think?' Sasuke spat as Tsunade gave him a hard look but he said no more.

'Now Yukiko you have no parents I am correct in assuming.' She stated as I nodded mutely. "Now about 23 years ago before Sasuke's mother Mikoto, and Hinata's father Hiashi were married they worked on the same team and could be seen around from time to time. Both knew they were betrothed to their various clans and I have no idea why but someone slipped up and the next thing we knew there was a baby on the way.' Tsunade glared as Hiashi as he just looked angry at the fact that I was still alive.

'The next thing we knew was that Mikoto vanished for a year to a remote training mission. When she came back it was like nothing had ever happened.' Kakashi stated as Tsunade cleared her voice.

'But that was not the case because a baby girl was brought to the Hokage's office by Mikoto and she pleaded with the fourth hokage for the baby to be taken far away from here even though she knew the order by Hiashi had been to kill the child upon sight of it.' She stated as I glared at the man now going purple across the room.

'My father was the man assigned to kill the child. But for some reason, he never said why but he just couldn't kill something so innocent so he took the baby as far away as he knew. He went to the assassin village of Rin high in the mountains. He was gone for months but when he returned he simply stated the baby had died during a fight. That was the end of the matter. Everyone believed the child to be dead.' Kakashi said as I looked at them.

'But that's not the case' I said with a rather catty grin. Sasuke looked like his head was going to explode as the Hyuuga male looked like he wanted to kill Hiashi who had his head in his hands.

'So, with this now apparent we have a little situation on our hands. The elders want Yukiko-san banished from Konoha. They think she's more trouble than she's worth. But the issue is that she is the heir to the entire Uchiha family fortune.' Tsunade stated as mouths gaped.

'I what?!' I snapped. I thought my head was going to explode as I looked at Sasuke. He was my little brother and Hinata was my little sister. What the hell had I gotten myself into?

'The Uchiha family was a matriarchal family. All females in that family inherited before the males. Seeing as you are the only female Uchiha even if you're only half Uchiha you are entitled to the entire Uchiha fortune.' Tsunade stated as I blinked. Wow. I was stunned.

'The Hyuuga's are a patriarchal family so you are technically a branch family in their eyes. Even if you are half of the head family.' Kakashi stated as Tsunade nodded. I blinked, Hiashi = father, Sasuke=brother, Hinata=sister. I had a family. Wait then where was my mother?

'So what happened to my mother?' I asked assuming the worst seeing as she wasn't present. The room went silent again as it was Sasuke who spoke.

'Our brother Itachi murdered her along with the rest of our clan' he said so coldly I felt the room cool dramatically it seemed. I looked at the bed sheets. That must've been what Teacher had said about doing something so unforgivable that no one would understand even if they had been in that same position.

'I see. So what does this mean?' I stated as everyone looked at me shocked. This was getting old.

'Well you're head of the Uchiha's I guess that means that well…. Uh... I don't really know what it means but now you are actually from the fire country so you have a dual citizenship with ice.' Tsunade said as I nodded. The room seemed to relax as Hiashi left the room still an interesting shade of purple. Tsunade went to check on Hinata as the other Hyuuga boy left and Sasuke just stared at me.

I grasped Kakashi's hand as he looked surprised by the action.

'Are you alright?' I asked as the look he gave me held such utter exhaustion and sadness I actually wanted to cry for him.

'I'm fine' he stated. He was a damned good actor I'd give him that as Hinata seemingly came round. I lay back against the pillows to soak in the new information.

I had a family, a really messed up one but I had a family. I had a last name. Uchiha. A grin spread across my face as Kakashi leant against the window again.

'You know now you'll have to be tested to see if you have the sharingan and byakugan' Sasuke said as I looked at him. He seemed rather lonely in the corner. I shrugged.

'I have neither of those so I'm safe, come over here.' I said lying through my teeth as he came to stand beside my bed. He regarded me coldly. I sighed. 'First off stop glaring at me seriously aren't you glad that you have a big sister?' I asked as Sasuke looked away from me distinctly.

'You better not stand in my way of killing our brother' he stated as I raised an eyebrow.

'Why not? If he's our brother he should at least have a fair trial before you hack his head off with that boringly straight sword' I stated as Sasuke gave me an arctic cold glare.

'He killed our entire clan!' He exclaimed as I poked him. He blinked 'what are you doing?!' he snapped as I looked up at him.

'You're alive, as am I, and so is he. Therefore our clan is not entirely gone unless you and he cant reproduce then I guess I'm stuck with that job. Damn and I never though I wanted kids.' I mumbled as Sasuke's eye began to twitch. Kakashi put his hand on my shoulder again to stop me as I smiled at my brother.

'Sorry Sasuke-kun. Just let me talk with him before you hack his head off.' I said as Sasuke looked rather stressed. I gave him a hug. He froze at the foreign contact as I gently let go and sat back on my bed.

I saw a red tint on his cheeks before he marched from the room. Kakashi gave a chuckle as I sighed and stretched. I felt amazing, better than I ever had. I lay back on my bed as the door crept open and a stack of papers with orange legs walked into the room. I blinked as the enormous stack was set heavily on the end of my bed.

'From Tsunade with love' Naruto said as he leant on the stack. I gulped. All of those papers I had to read and sign I assumed as Kakashi gave a chuckle.

'Yes the paperwork for being the head of a clan. I can help you get through it if you like' Kakashi stated as I looked at him. Was he really going to be that kind because I had no idea what I was going to do with all of that paperwork.

'Really?' I asked as he nodded. I hugged him as Naruto laughed and took a seat on the bed beside me.

'So you're really Sasuke's older sister?' he asked as I blinked.

'How did you -?' I grinned and ruffled his hair. He grinned.

'Eavesdropping jutsu' he grinned as Kakashi shook his head. I laughed.

'You sneaky little bastard' I teased as Naruto grinned from ear to ear.

'You shouldn't be encouraging him' Kakashi said blandly as I shrugged.

'Well Naruto remember that there are times that eavesdropping is good. That wasn't one of them but the secret is out now so I'm not surprised you're the first to know.' I said as he nodded looking absolutely serious.

'Oh yea Ino said that you were free to go and that if you have any problems to talk to Sakura-chan.' He said as I nodded. I looked at myself. Once again in a hospital gown with thankfully Kakashi's tank-mask covering my nose and mouth.

'So anyone have clothing?' I asked as both men exchanged looks. I guessed not.

'Ill go try and find you some pants and a coat Yuki-chan' Naruto said and scampered from the room. I laughed and read the first page of the stack that Naruto had left in his wake.

I got through the first few lines of the legal writing before I felt like my brain was running out of my ears because of all of the flowery round about words that had been written on the documents.

'Ow my brain' I put the page back as Kakashi laughed and took the same page. He seemed to read it in a few moments before he laughed.

'Yours will be easier than what I had to go through. You're written in the will it seems' as he pointed to a spot on the page. I read it. It said nothing about my name the terms used was _a biological daughter of Mikoto Uchiha._ Well that was vague yet specific at the same time.

'I never was good with all of the legal writings and formalities. I can act formal and understand protocols. But writing formalities for different countries is a mystery to me since I've had to learn four different languages' I sighed and Kakashi raised his eyebrow.

'You know four languages, that's very impressive. Most children here are only taught to be fluent in their own language.' He said as I lay back on my bed.

'We were trained to know at least three. I took an interest in the language here so I became fluent in your language. Otherwise you'd never understand me. The language in Rin and the great ninja territories don't even you the same alphabet. You'd be completely lost there.' I said as Kakashi nodded.

'So no documents from Rin could be understood here am I correct in assuming that?' he asked as I thought about it.

'No you could if you knew the language in Rin and our cryptic codes.' I stated as he relaxed against the bed frame.

The door opened as Naruto and Sakura walked into the room. Naruto carried a pair of teal scrub pants and a blue scrub shirt as he passed them to me. Sakura took the I.V. out of my hand as she gave me a brief check over. She hustled Naruto and Kakashi out of the room as I changed into the scrubs she had provided me with. They were a little snug as I stepped out into the hallway.

Naruto and Kakashi were talking about something as they both stopped the moment we walked into the hall.

'I have a few more patients to visit so I'll see you at home' Sakura waved as she disappeared up the hall.

'Let's go to Ichiraku ramen Kakashi-sensei!' Naruto exclaimed as I grinned. Ramen, of course it was every teenaged boy's favorite food.

'Alright' Kakashi said as he glanced at me. I smiled as Naruto looped his arm through mine.

'Awesome!' Naruto dragged us out of the hospital as the bright sun as I blinked owlishly. The young man on my arm all but dragged me down the street. Kakashi kept pace with us as suddenly someone knocked into me.

I tripped planting my hand in front of me and spinning myself around to land on my feet as I looked at the person who knocked into me. I looked up to see a pair of white eyes close to my own before I was looking at nothing.

'Sorry about that Yukiko-san' the other Hyuuga male stated as someone jabbed my in the shoulder. What now. I turned around to see an enormous fist flying my way. I moved my head quickly to the right as the punch missed.

I grabbed the person's arm and tugged forward throwing them off balance and to my side. Then I felt someone creating a jutsu behind me from the swell of chakra. I jumped to the left then onto the roof of a nearby building as I looked down on the scene where I had been standing.

'Shikamaru, Neji, Chouji why are you attacking Yukiko-chan?' Naruto snapped as the boys all looked at one another. I sighed and sat on the roof, my legs dangling over the side as I looked at my new friends. A large young man in red battle armor with spiky hair from the hospital and a really scrawny young man with his hair pulled back into a ponytail as he slouched into view.

'Eh, you mean she's not an enemy? What a drag and here I almost used my jutsu' the slouchy young man said as Naruto looked rather annoyed.

'She was with us why would you attack her?' Naruto spat as I sighed.

'Boys' I called as they all looked up at me, realizing I was still there. They were all surprised to see me up on the top of the store front. I jumped down landing beside Kakashi as he kept reading his porn.

'So you're the new kunoichi Hokage-sama hired. It's true you do look like the Hyuuga's. Don't get mad at me Neji it's the truth.' So that was the Hyuuga boy's name. I looked at the ponytail sporting teen.

'Yes, I'm Yukiko from the village hidden in the ice. It's nice to meet you.' I said as the guy in the battle armor laughed.

'And you were suspicious of her Shikamaru!' he continued to laugh as the slouching teen shot him an amused look.

'I wasn't the one who just about smacked her into oblivion now was I?' he muttered as the armored teen just laughed.

'Yea, sorry about that' he said as I saw Sasuke stepping out of a weapons store with a paper bag in hand.

'Hey Sasuke-kun!' I waved him over as he looked up and grudgingly came over to stand with the others. They seemed rather uncomfortable as Chouji shifted from foot to foot and Shikamaru distinctly watched my brothers every move.

'What did you want?' he asked rather blandly as I shrugged.

'What do you want for supper I'm going to go grocery shopping' I said as everyone just gave me a weird look. What, was it so weird that I wanted to make supper?

'Well?' I asked as my voice seemed to shock people back to their senses.

'I like… sushi, vegetarian sushi' he said quietly but icily as I nodded. The other's mouths dropped open. It was rather unexpected that he'd like sushi of all things I expected him to like udon or ramen or something.

'Sushi it is then!' I said as Chouji looked at me.

'You actually eat that stuff?' he stated as I nodded.

'Yea I don't mind it. The pickled ginger is my favorite, although I prefer stew' I said as they looked confused. 'Never mind about the stew, but yea I do eat sushi from time to time.' I said as Chouji laughed.

'I never eat it but then again I prefer barbeque or chips.' He said as Shikamaru elbowed him.

'Yea that's why you're not a pretty boy like Uchiha Chouji' he laughed as Chouji gave him a dark look before laughing. I rolled my eyes, boys will be boys. I did need to go grocery shopping thought as I noticed Sasuke had disappeared along with his brown shopping bag.

'I'll see you boys around. Try not to fall into anyone Neji-kun' I waved as he blushed slightly. The other two waved to us as Kakashi and Naruto escorted me around the corner.

'They're so annoying.' Naruto huffed as I laughed and scruffed his hair.

'You're one to talk' Kakashi muttered as I noticed he had put away his book for a moment. Naruto glared at his sensei.

'At least I'm not a pervert!' He rounded on Kakashi as I sighed and clapped a hand over my forehead.

'Now Naruto, it's not nice to call people names when they do not represent that remark' he stated as I snickered.

'I think I heard the pot call the kettle black' I snickered as Kakashi gave me a look that promised pain in the future for that remark. Naruto looked confused as I changed the subject.

'So where would be the best place to get stuff for sushi around here' I asked as Naruto was right on the ball.

'That would be Fugu's seafood' he said as I nodded and he towed me once again down a different street. The shopping was done rather easily as Naruto pretty much begged us to go to Ichiraku ramen for lunch. It was good I had to admit as I saw the girl Naruto had met for a date the one time. She really did seem like a sweet girl as I downed my bowl of ramen and Naruto took on three. I paid as I felt Kakashi slip money into my back pocket of my scrubs before we left. Silly man feeling bad for a working woman paying for his meal I didn't give it back to his right away. I was going to wait for an opening to give it back inconspicuously.

'We're home!' I called as I heard music from upstairs. I assumed it was Sasuke as I set the groceries on the kitchen counter. I turned around and ran smack into Kakashi's chest. My foot slid on the hardwood as his arm grabbed me against him so quickly I hadn't registered I had been falling until I was at a 45 degree angle from the floor.

'Good catch Kakashi-sensei!' Naruto clapped as I felt a blush work its way onto my face.

'You should be more careful yuki-san' he muttered as he righted me. His hand grazed the back of my arm as he moved past me and into the living room.

I wasn't sure what just happened as Sakura's head appeared by the staircase.

'Do you want any help Yukiko-senpai? Sasuke-kun said you were making vegetarian sushi' she seemed rather gushy today as I shook my head. What was with that man and being seductive?

'Yes I'd love some help Sakura-chan, if Sasuke-kun wants to help he can too' I said as I turned to see Naruto behind me.

'Why don't you just call Sasuke Otouto or nii-chan?' Naruto's mouth was open before I could slap my hand over his mouth. I saw Sakura's eyes widened as I cured the blonde idiot for his stupidity. I glared at him as I saw him realize his obvious mistake. 'Wait, I mean… oops?' I smacked my forehead as Sakura came downstairs.

'You're Sasuke's Onee-san?' she stated as I sighed and rubbed the bridge of my nose.

'Yes, half sister it seems that we share the same mother.' I said as I noticed Sasuke's raven hair coming down the staircase.

'And it was to be kept a secret until moron here blurted it out for the world to hear.' Sasuke was sarcastic as I saw Naruto's temper rising.

'HEY I THINK SAKURA-CHAN DESERVES TO KNOW SEEING AS SHE IS DATING YOU!' He roared as I blinked as did Sasuke.

'I'm not dating Sakura' he stated as I saw a slight pang of sadness go through the pink haired girl's eyes. I sighed, ah the drama of being 17.

'But you are courting her correct Nii-chan?' I stressed as he met my hardened gaze with a level one of his own.

'True enough' he stated as I sighed. Kakashi had stood up at the bickering that had been going on between his students as I went back into the kitchen and slumped into one of the bar chairs. I had a massive headache coming on from all of the yelling and drugs I had been on in the past few days. I could feel it starting right behind my eyes and traveling back to the back of my neck as I put my head on the table.

'Are you alright Yuki-san?' Kakashi's voice was almost concerned as I saw him setting out my forgotten ingredients and getting knives and cutting boards to start on the vegetables.

'No, I have a massive headache coming on' I stated not looking up as I heard the grocery bags rustle before I felt warm hands on the back of my neck and shoulders.

His hands were magic as I could actually feel the tightened muscles relax as he hit a pressure point and I had to bite my lip from moaning and turning into a puddle of pudding. My headache abated slightly as I heard Sakura stop bickering with Naruto and enter the kitchen. The sound of vegetables being chopped and the TV nearly lulled me to sleep especially with Kakashi working his magic on my neck.

'Sakura-chan can you hand me some acetaminophen' he asked as I sighed and actually let a small moan out as he hit another pressure point. There was shuffling around and a cupboard door slamming before two small tablets and a glass of water was shoved under my nose. I downed the tablets as Kakashi worked the last few knots in my neck loose. I sighed as he took a seat beside me.

'So Sakura, have you heard what was taken from the records office yet?' Kakashi asked as I listened to the conversation with my head resting on my arms. Sakura put the rice in the rice cooker as she shook her head.

'No, nothing was taken but there were papers everywhere and it looks like they were looking for something specific.' She stated as something rang a bell in my memory. Something specific? I recalled what Orochimaru had asked Kakashi for before his lackey had tortured him.

'Could it have been Orochimaru looking for the forbidden jutsu scrolls whereabouts?' I asked as both pairs of eyes turned to me and Sasuke leant against the door frame looking angry.

'Sounds like something he would do' Sasuke muttered as Sakura nodded gravely.

'Do you keep records of where you put certain documents like that?' I asked as Kakashi shook his head.

'No, that would be stupid. But to break into Konoha is just about impossible, breaking into the records room would require a great deal of talent.' Kakashi said.

'Or a really good concealment jutsu' I muttered into my glass as Sakura shook her head.

'No Yuki-senpai, the records room can only be accessed by a few people because of the ornate barrier system set up around it. The problem the investigators found was that the seal and barrier had been completely destroyed as if someone had overpowered the system.' She said as I put my head back on the counter.

'Were dealing with a ninja or group of ninjas who are highly skilled and want information. Konoha will be on the red alert-'Kakashi was cut off as there was a pouf of smoke and a small pug was sitting on the counter. I blinked as the jacket and forehead protector wearing dog sniffed me.

'Good evening' he said as I blinked then laughed. He had such a manly voice for a pug! How adorable! The pug gave me a weird look as he looked at Kakashi.

'You surround yourself with strange company Kakashi.' He said as the jounin shrugged. I put my head against the table as the small animal sat in front of Kakashi.

'What's up Pakkun?' Sakura asked as she gave him a piece of a pecan cookie from the cupboard. The dog happily snapped it up his petite curly tail wagging slightly.

'Just coming here to tell Kakashi that Tsunade needs him immediately to interrogate a young stone ninja that was caught sneaking across our northwestern border, thanks for the snack Sakura-san' The little dog said as he turned to look at the jounin. Kakashi sighed and stood.

'Let's go.' He said as Pakkun followed him.

'I'll save you some sushi!' Sakura called as Kakashi turned around.

'Don't worry about it I have to head over to the main house and feed the dogs anyway. Thank you thought Sakura' he said and disappeared out the front door.

I turned to look at Sakura as she got out the bamboo roller and the seaweed wrap.

'hey, why would Kakashi be called in for interrogation?' I asked as Sakura shrugged.

'I have no idea I never really thought about it. Maybe it had something to do with hiding his face?' she stated as my curiosity piqued.

'His face; Have you ever actually seen his real face?' I asked as she shook her head again spooning out some of the sticky rice.

'No we tried when we were kids but that didn't get us anywhere. Kakashi-sensei is one of the best ninja in Konoha, if not the world. There was no way a group of mere genins were going to find out what the great copy ninja Kakashi has under his mask' she laughed as I threw in a laugh to match.

I looked back into the other room to see Sasuke and Naruto glued to the TV. I guess there was a good program on as Sakura poked me and turned on the TV. She came over to me and leant against the table sporting a wicked grin as I leant back in my chair.

'What?' I asked quietly as she giggled.

'Kakashi-sensei definitely has something for you' she said as I rolled my eyes.

'Sakura- chan he is not. He trusts me as a teammate and maybe even a friend. That's it!' I stated as Sakura rolled her eyes.

'You should've seen Kakashi-sensei before you came along. He was so quiet and always seemed like he was a million miles away. He was always late for appointments and meetings making up bad excuses for why he was late. And whenever he wasn't on a mission no one could ever find him. It was like he disappeared off of the face of the planet. Not saying that Kakashi-sensei is still much like that but he seems a little more focused around you and almost a little surer of himself. It's so strange but when you were unconscious in grass the first thing he asked me was if you were still alive.' Sakura said as I looked at her.

'He could've asked that out of curiosity based upon it being beneficial not having a teammate keel over dead.' I stated as Sakura shook her head. She seemed to be getting agitated.

'No Yukiko-chan. The way he said it and the look on his face was enough to convince me that Kakashi-sensei feels something for you more than just friends' she finished quickly as I opened my mouth to protest but then closed it. I had noticed that Kakashi had been a little more open since the attack in grass. Especially after the weird memory sharing experience that still depressed me a little.

I sighed as Sakura went back to finishing the sushi rolls. I thought about it, from what Sakura had said the old Kakashi had resembled someone like me in Rin after Akio and Yuuto my beloved teammates had died. Those had been a hard few months after their deaths and teacher's disappearance. It was the first time I had truly felt alone and abandoned. But I knew I couldn't live like that, living in memories of things I could've changed, should've done to keep them from getting killed. From having Yuuto throw himself in front of the razor wire to save me from slicing my head off of my neck.

I put my head back down on the table. But now everything had changed again. I had a family here, a brother and a sister and friends, Saukra, Naruto, Kakashi.

Sakura set some sushi in front of me as I ate it not really paying attention to the idle chatter around me as the others ate. Maybe Kakashi was changing a little, letting some people in his little inner circle. It seemed that Sakura had been close to the copy ninja once but I could see that Sakura had taken her own path in life and my guess was the Kakashi had felt left behind. There was something about Sasuke that I knew Kakashi detested. I was planning on finding out what it was that made Kakashi so wary and angry almost in the teen's presence.

'Yukiko-chan?' Naruto waved his hand in front of my face as I looked at the others. I had completely zoned out as an enormous stack of papers caught my eye. I groaned I had forgotten about all of the Uchiha family paperwork. I looked at the sheets with annoyance as Naruto grinned from ear to ear.

'Kakashi-sensei just sent them over with Shikamaru, I think he hates you now for making him carry all of those.' Naruto laughed as smiled. Yes the lazy teen would hate me for making him do any kind of work.

'Plus, Naruto you forgot that Kakashi-sensei also mentioned to tell Yukiko-chan that he would help her over at his house later this evening around 7' Sakura said as I glanced at the clock. It was about 5:30 as I stretched. The massage had been amazing as I realized how badly I needed to shower.

'Eh leave those evil things there' I waved at the three foot mountain of paper and equally as high pile of scrolls as I wandered upstairs. My room was untouched from how I had left it before the mission minus my pack and sword and clothing had been placed on top of my nicely made bed. I rummaged in my traveling cloak for a crinkled and creased photo that I loved.

It was a photo of my assassin patrol the day we had all graduated. Teacher stood in the middle wit his characteristic stare glaring out of the photo with his left hand on my shoulder. I was standing in front of him a little to the right laughing holding hands with Yuuto to my right. He was a tall, athletically built, sky blue haired young man with intense brown eyes and a gentle smile as he looked at me. To the left of me sporting a huge grin was Akio with icy blue eyes and fire truck red hair in crazy dreadlocks. He had his mammoth of a sword swung over his shoulder as he gave the camera the victory sign.

I felt a few tears work their way to the surface as I set the photo beside my penguin alarm clock that I assumed Naruto had gotten for me. I sighed and smiled remembering how much happiness and joy had been in Yuuto's eyes when we had graduated.

I turned around and grabbed a spare of my own clothes and headed to the bathroom for a much needed hot shower.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

Review please!

Random quote: Laughing stock: cattle with a sense of humour.


	7. An evening of learning

I sighed stepping out of the warm shower and into a fluffy green towel. I wrapped one around my long hair as I looked at my neck in the mirror. There was a jumble of long ropy silver scars that crisscrossed my neck and chin. One scar crossed the side of my cheek from ear to chin diagonally. On the opposite side was a small vertical scar that ran parallel to my nose over my lips and drown to my throat left by the very tip of a broadsword. I remembered the day Akio had given that to me by accident by getting frustrated and swinging around with his sword on his shoulder only to catch me with its very tip.

The rest of the scars on my neck and face were a reminder of how close I had come to death that day my friends had died. Had it not been for my teacher's quick thinking and action I would be as dead as my friends.

I put on my bra and tank-mask hiding all evidence of the battle trophies as I put on some underwear and a pair of comfortable dark blue pants. There was chattering from the kitchen as I left the bathroom and noticed Sasuke's door was ajar and the light was on.

I walked over and knocked on the door. There was a pause as some type of music was shut off and the door opened.

'What?' Sasuke was gruff as I put my foot in the jam.

'Can I talk to you?' I asked as he gave me a suspicious look but let me in anyway. Sasuke's room was very clean for a teenager. He had dark blue sheets on his bed accented by his black from and black furniture. The walls were painted a rich Prussian blue as I noticed he had been reading judging by the various books and scrolls littered on his desk.

"So Sasuke, it must be weird to know I'm your sister eh?' I asked as he have an 'hn' as an answer. I tried a different approach. 'What are you studying?' I asked as he gave me a look.

'To see if there has been any Uchiha-Hyuuga connections with the families in the past to see if there have been any interesting bloodline limits that are different from the normal streams' he stated as I was rather impressed. Brains also ran in the family. This was a good thing.

'Good idea. But sadly I don't think I have a bloodline limit because of my weird breeding. Maybe the lines cancelled each other out?' I stated as Sasuke went back to his desk. He was on guard in case I tried to trick him or something I could see. But more so I think he was glad that I was talking to him about things that weren't trivial in his opinion.

'I know the sharingan isn't awakened in our family unless we are in danger of dying. They Hyuuga's are born with their talent already visible and ready to use unless they are sealed.' Sasuke stated as I nodded. He shifted through some papers on his desk as I glanced at them. They all seemed to be coming from a central library source that wasn't the local library or the academy's library. 'I have found this though.' He pointed to a chart about how the bloodline limits are carried. I read the passage aloud.

'_After many different types of research on the similarities between the byakugan and the sharingan it can be concluded that the sharingan and the byakugan were once a conjoined trait. This can be seen by how the DNA structures seem to compliment each other in very nearly the exact same patterns when growing in developing fetuses.'_ I gave Sasuke a look as he motioned to keep reading. I sighed and continued. _'Both fetuses grew at the same rate and both genes were developed fully by the time of birth. One key difference was that the sharingan gene remained dormant within the carrier's body until a sufficient danger arose the wielder's instinct to use it. The opposite is the byakugan that is active from birth until the person dies or is sealed. It is believed that the sharingan and byakugan genes are carried on the X sex cell from either mother or father of the children.'_ I stopped and looked at my brother. He nodded as I stared at him.

'You cannot show the others this.' I said as he looked confused. 'I will be made into a living science experiment!' I stated as he glanced down at the paper.

'We need to see if you have the sharingan or the primitive blood line limit that the text spoke about originally. If you don't have those then you still are a carrier for both the byakugan and sharingan bloodline limits.' Sasuke looked at me as I nodded and sat on his bed.

'So that means that either way I can pass on either the byakugan or the sharingan if I have kids' I said as Sasuke gave me an are-you-stupid look as I nodded. Yes, it was possible for a 50/50 for my children to either have the byakugan or the sharingan or, even my own strange eye talent.

'YUKIKO-CHAAAAAAAAN!' Naruto's obnoxious voice called as I looked at the fat cat clock that was sitting on Sasuke's night table. It read 6:45 as I rolled my eyes. Trust in Sakura to manipulate Naruto into doing her dirty work.

'Have a hot date?' Sasuke asked giving me as dark look as a smirk slid onto my face.

'Wouldn't you like to know?' I stated before stepping out of his room. I walked back into my room to see Naruto jumping on my bed.

'Oh Yukiko-chan!' he said and jumped off of the bed. I stared at him as he grinned and rubbed his neck. 'Sakura said she bought you an outfit to go out tonight' he handed me a rather large package wrapped in bright pink tissue paper as he grinned and ran out of the room. The door slammed behind me as I jumped and turned back to the gaudy package left in my hands. How would Sakura know my size let alone be able to find anything in it?

I opened the gaudy pink paper as the first thing I noticed was a set of dark green barrettes that had three ivy leaves on the ends. They were quite beautiful as I looked at the clothing beneath the hair clips. There was a dark green silk Yukata that had small white flowers down the left sleeve and the bottom hem that seemed to spill down from the left shoulder. Underneath lay a white sash and a pair of black leggings. A grin slowly slid over my face as I changed into the nice clothing, it fit perfectly even if you could see the sleeves of my mesh shirt from under the sleeves and I left the neck line rather open so not to strangle myself.

I twisted my hair up and put in the ivy clips in and concealed a surprising amount of weapons on my person before slinging Akane onto my back. There was a knock before Sakura came in.

'Oh Yukiko-senpai, you're so pretty! I can't believe it fits you so well!' she gushed as I smiled.

'I can't believe you found my size, where did you get this?' I asked as Sakura shook her head.

'I didn't get it Hinata-chan dropped it off she said that Shikamaru had been asked by Chouji who had been asked my Temari who had been asked by Kiba who had been asked by his mother Tsume who refused to give a source of where or who she got it from.' Sakura said as I nodded. In truth I got lost around Temari but kept smiling anyway.

'Well tell all of them thanks I guess.' I said as she nodded and clapped her hands before turning and looping her arm with mine and dragging me downstairs. Naruto was absorbed in the TV as I saw the massive pile of documents on the kitchen table still. I groaned as Sakura pulled a plate out of the fridge and set it beside the massive stack of papers.

'Sasuke-kun can you walk Yukiko-senpai to Kakashi-sensei's?' Sakura asked handing me a plate of wrapped leftover sushi. Sasuke gave Sakura and me a dark look before walking over to the large stack of paper.

'Fine.' He said as Sakura's looked surprised.

'Thank you Sasuke-kun, Nii-chan' we said as the same time as Sasuke took half of the stack of papers. I balanced the plate on top of the papers as Sasuke led the way out of the house.

It was cool out as Sasuke took the lead and turned away from the normal road to downtown. In stead we took a side road that headed northeast. This end of town was quieter, more residential as slowly it thinned out into trees and play grounds. There were a few smaller buildings before apartment complexes rose in the distance. Sasuke was quiet as we passed a few people on the street. They gave us a wide berth as I heard whispering from passers by. Looks like my secret was out about being an Uchiha as a little girl pointed at me before her mother could whisk her away with a look of fear on her face.

I sighed as Sasuke gave me a bored glance.

'You always have this Sasuke?' I asked. I got a positive 'Hn' as I sighed again. 'You'd think over the years of being feared you'd get over it.' I said as Sasuke gave me a raised eyebrow as a question. 'I was feared in Rin for my talents. I was next in line to be yuki-kage before my platoon was murdered' I muttered as Sasuke gave me a sad 'hn' and a quiet silence stretched before us.

Sasuke turned right as we came to a street of rather tired looking neighborhood with white washed buildings. There was a small convenience store next to a two story building with a row of glass windows at the front as Sasuke walked to the side where a bland red door with three doorbells were located. Sasuke rang the bottom bell labeled Hatake in sloppy writing as we stood and waited.

'Trust Kakashi-sensei to stand up everyone' Sasuke muttered angrily as I leant against the door frame. My arms were getting tired and the sushi was getting warmer as my brother and I stood on Kakashi's doorstep.

'Is he always late?' I asked as Sasuke gave a curt nod. I sighed shifting my arms as a few children ran by on the street brandishing sticks and capes made of towels or tattered blankets.

'Yo' I jumped as Kakashi's voice was right behind me.

'You're late.' I said noticing it was now 7:45. He shrugged.

'A little old ladies cat was stuck in a tree so I had to get it down for her.' He stated as I gave him a disbelieving look.

'Your excuses are getting worse Kakashi-sensei' Sasuke muttered before dumping the stack of papers into the jounins arms. 'Bye yuki' he muttered before walking away

with his hands in his pockets. Kakashi brush past me as I felt something like a spark jump from his hand onto my arm. He glanced at me with a smile and unlocked the doors before he ushered me inside. I followed him upstairs as we came to the first landing. The door was white as he opened it into the smallest apartment I'd ever seen. The apartment was quite literally a single room with a kitchenette on one side a bed by a large window with a night table and a large kitchen table in the middle with a small bathroom off to the side. A large bookshelf with Make-out varieties covering the top two shelves and a dresser beside it sat at the foot of the bed.

'Wow, this place is clean' I said as Kakashi gave a dry chuckle.

'I don't spend a lot of time here other than sleeping and eating, even then I usually go over to your place for meals. Sakura usually makes more than enough.' He stated as I remembered the food Sakura had given me.

'Well you can thank Sakura she made your food seeing as I was preoccupied at the time' I said smiling and dropping the huge stack of papers on the little kitchen table and put the sushi into his hands. A smile crossed his face as he walked over to the kitchenette.

'She even remembered extra pickled ginger. Sakura never forgets anything it seems.' He stated as a small smile crossed his face. Those two were definitely close friends I could tell as I noticed a small plant on top of the book shelf name Mr. Ukki. What a random name for a plant.

I took a seat at the small table as Kakashi sat on the small counter eating his sushi with a pair of chopsticks. I hated eating with two sticks it was awkward at best for me as I heard a knock at the door. Kakashi sighed and looked rather annoyed as I read a very strong chakra level from outside of the door.

'It's open Gai' Kakashi called as he swiped up another piece of sushi. He wasn't eating insanely fast so I assumed he was enjoying it even though I never saw his face beneath the mask. Kakashi gave me a wink before the piece of sushi was gone from his sticks.

'Eh Kakashi, how did the interrogation of that young little spitfire of a woman go?' Gai asked as he strutted through the door and unfortunately noticed me sitting at the table half hidden behind my stack of papers.

'Yukiko-san, I didn't see you! How are you, you young blooming lotus of life?' asked as Kakashi continued to chew with a rather amused expression. I gave him a frustrated look as I swear I saw him grin. Jerk.

'I'm well thank you Gai-san how about yourself?' I asked as the green unitard wearing man threw his hand across his face.

'Alas, all is not well. My most talented student Lee has fallen for a girl and it is sad to be known she does not feel the same way. Oh the beauty of youth is being wasted, how I wish to point Lee in a different direction!' the man was nothing if not theatric and who was Lee?

'That's…upsetting?' I guessed as he sighed dramatically. Kakashi didn't say anything but I noticed all of his sushi was gone.

'Ah yes, but the more important question is why are you in the dastardly Kakashi's house fair maiden!' he exclaimed as I wanted to bash my head off of the desk.

'I recently acquired some… property… here in Konoha so I'm sifting through the paper work and Kakashi-san graciously volunteered to help me with the document wording since I'm not from this continent.' I said with a smile as Gai turned to the tall jounin who was watching us half awake.

'That is very modest of you Kakashi; I applaud your skills of reaching out to fellow ninja to assist them in their endeavors here in Konoha!' he clapped Kakashi on the back as the taller jounin looked at Gai.

'Didn't you mention running 500 laps with Lee before heading home this evening?' Kakashi stated as Gai look horrified.

'YES, and I am almost late thank you for reminding me Kakashi. Remember not to be late for our meeting tomorrow morning or Hokage-dono will kill you this time!' he pointed at Kakashi as I stifled a giggle. Well Gai was good for a laugh even if he was being serious.

'Lee?' I questioned as Gai ran from the room exclaiming thanks to me before disappearing out the door. 'He's a real whirlwind isn't he?' I asked as Kakashi took a seat beside me.

'You could say that' he muttered as he pulled the top half of the documents towards himself. Reading formalities in this language was confusing at best. Kakashi and I sat together our knees touching as he told me the paraphrased versions of the long paragraphs and all of the things I was expected to do and had to sign. We shifted through a quarter of the papers as his clock chimed 10:30 pm. I looked at the clock, my brain was dead by this point as I put my head on the table.

'This should be torture' I muttered as Kakashi gave a chuckle and messed up my hair.

'There is much worse than this. Try having to write these documents' he stated as I nearly died at the thought letting him rest his hand on my head.

'Shit' I muttered in English as Kakashi gave me a weird look. I switched back to Japanese immediately. 'That's Rin's language. Its very different compared to this language.' I stated as he nodded.

'Could you teach me to speak some of it?' he asked as I looked at him.

'You really want to learn?' I asked as he nodded. I thought for a minute. 'Repeat after me then.' I stated grabbing a pen. 'Pen' I stated. He tried to memorize what I said as he looked at the writing utensil.

'pen' he said with a bit of an accent taking the tiny instrument from me as I smiled.

'Good, you're going to be pretty good at this.' I said as he seemed a little more pleased. I grabbed another item. 'paper' I said.

'peh, par' he stated looking frustrated at the syllables not fitting together correctly as I shook my head.

'paper.' I said as he was obviously trying very hard to memorize the new words.

'Paper' he pronounced quite clearly. I grinned and messed up his gravity defying hair as I noticed how soft it was. He really was quite smart as I moved him on to harder objects to say.

'Fridge' I said as he gave me a strange look.

'That is a really weird word for fridge.' He stated as I laughed and he smiled. 'Freedehge' he said as I smiled.

'Good try. Fridge.' I said coming to stand in front of him. I could tell he was a little frustrated at not being able to get words right off of the bat.

'Freedjuh' he said as I shrugged.

'Good enough!' I laughed as he joined in. 'English is a really hard language to learn if you haven't grown up with it. Would you like me to say something in English for you to hear what it sounds like?' I asked as he gave a nod. I sighed, now what to say. I thought for a minute until I just decided to speak. 'There are all types of people in our world, most are classified between good and evil but really people cannot be classified as such. People are classified by their actions, their humanity and the compassion that they show in their everyday lives.' I finished as Kakashi looked impressed.

'You should like you're hissing' he said as I giggled.

'I never really listened to English before, I've just spoken it and never thought twice about it!' I laughed taking my seat again. Kakashi looked at me as I grabbed another sheet of paper.

'So Yuki-san are you enjoying Konoha?' he asked quietly as I stopped reading and smiled still looking at the paper.

'Yea, it's been really amazing. I don't think I'll be leaving anytime soon though Kakashi-san' I said going back to reading a scroll about marriage within the Uchiha family and the approved Konoha family households. How Ironic.

'So, have you met anyone in Konoha yet that you would consider allowing them to show you more of the town?' he asked as I fought down a smile. Two could play at his little charade.

'Yes I have, he's quite an interesting person actually.' I stated as Kakashi seemed rather surprised at my answer.

'I see.' He said as I knew he thought I was talking about someone else. 'So what's this guy like if you think he's so interesting?' Kakashi asked pulling another document towards himself.

'Well, from the time I've spent with _him_' I stressed as Kakashi's eyebrow rose but he didn't look away from the scroll. 'I've met someone who is incredibly intelligent, I know he obviously cares deeply for his friends and loves Konoha.' I stated as Kakashi gave a grunt of acknowledgment as I looked at him. 'I also knows that he doesn't like to get close to people because he still grieves for all of the people he's lost in his life and doesn't want it to happen again because he knows that he cant take anymore heartache.' I said as Kakashi looked up at me.

He looked shocked and amazed as I noticed how dark his brown eyes were. They were warm chocolate almost as a sad smile crossed his face.

'He must be a very special guy' Kakashi muttered sadly as I wanted to smash my head off of the table. For a smart guy he sure could be super dense. I grabbed his face in my hands and forced him to look me in the face.

'ITS YOU, YOU DOLT!' I snapped as I noticed how close we were. Kakashi seemed to freeze as my words registered in his mind. I laughed quietly 'who did you think it was?' I asked as he shook his head.

I moved to lean back as suddenly not only was my mask down but Kakashi's was as well. His lips met mine as he kissed me. The kiss was short and sweet as, as suddenly as he had kissed me he had pulled away. I pulled my mask up quickly as I was tackled from behind.

'Got her boss!'

'Don't let her go!'

'What was she doing attacking you like that?'

'She smells funny!'

'Can I eat her?'

'hey boss can I have a leg?'

I sighed and attempted to turn over but was pinned to the ground by something much bigger than I was.

'Sorry, they smelt something was off before I could stop them' I heard Pakkun's voice as I also heard panting as a large glob of drool spread on the floor beside my head. Ew.

'Hey Yasu, get off of her' Kakashi muttered as the huge weight was removed from my back. A hand came into my vision as I was pulled to my feet. I turned to look at the 8 dogs sitting around the room.

'Sorry boss.' the huge bullmastiff muttered lying down on the bed. I looked at them all Pakkun was sitting on my vacant chair as a golden retriever sniffed the hem of my shirt. He wore sun glasses and one that looked like his brother wagged his tail knocking Mr. Ukki off of the dresser.

'hey, hey wanna play strange lady?' the golden's panted as a white dog beared his fangs at me.

'I still want a leg' he muttered as I raised an eyebrow.

'Or not' one with a bandaged head giggled as a dog with a tattoo that said DOG on his forehead yawned and rolled over. The last dog I noticed was hiding behind Kakashi as I turned to look at him.

'I like shoes' she stated as I blinked. What a dumb dog. Kakashi put his arm over my shoulders as he pulled me closer to him.

'Yuki-san I'd like you to meet my eight ninja dogs' he said as they all barked a hello.

'eh, sorry about letting Yasu tackle you there yuki-san' Pakkun said as I left Kakashi's side and gave the little dog an ear rub.

'That's quite alright Pakkun and you too Yasu' I said as the bullmastiff gave a deep bark. I laughed as the phone rang. I glanced at it as Kakashi looked at me, the dogs all exchanged wary looks as he picked it up.

'Hello?' he asked as there was some squabbling on the other end. 'I see. Yes they're here.' There was some more squabbling. 'Paperwork. A co-worker.' There was a laugh and more squabbling I sat down at the table and gave Pakkun a belly rub as the other dogs came to sit or lay around me. 'Yes, I will look into that. Tomorrow morning at training ground Six. Bring Sasuke and Neji. I'll tell her. Goodnight Tsunade-san' Kakashi hung up the phone as he took a seat beside me.

'What did the hokage want?' I asked as I switched to petting the goldens by my knees.

'She wants Sasuke, Neji, and myself to try to test you tomorrow to see if you possess any of the bloodline limits.' He said as I nodded.

'Sure but I don't think you'll find anything though.' I said as Kakashi gave one of the dogs a look as they tried to compete for my attention. They all backed off and sat at respectable distances from the table.

'You all can go back to the main house' he stated as the dogs all once disappeared in a flurry of leaves. Pakkun was the last to leave as he set a scroll in front of Kakashi.

'This was set at the main house for you' He said as Kakashi nodded and the little dog looked at me. 'Keep him in line' he said with a doglike smile before he also disappeared in a flurry of leaves. I looked at Kakashi as he tossed the scroll on the bed. I caught the message on the front of it.

Last notice of will proclamation was written in bold letters as the scroll landed on the bed. I raised an eyebrow as he went back to shifting through the documents. I put the marriage scroll into the pocket of my yukata hiding it from view as we managed to get ¾ of the way through all of the documents.

'Alright so the family funds are equal to $360 million in all of the families bank accounts that are now deposited into yours.' Kakashi read as I blinked. I was RICH?! I jumped out of my chair and started dancing like a maniac.

'I'm Rich! WOOHOO!!' I danced around the small apartment as I didn't notice Mr. Ukki on the ground. I slid in the dirt and went into the splits as Kakashi offered a hand to help me up. I winced as muscles were pulled I didn't know could be pulled as I glanced at the sorry little Aloe Vera plant.

'That plant never seems to die' Kakashi muttered as I swept the little plant back into its pot. I righted the cactus and put some of the spilt dirt back into the pot.

'Who gave you the plant?' I asked as Kakashi took the small plant and turned to put it back on the shelf.

'It's not important.' His tone sounded defeated as I gave him a hug. He stiffened as I rested my face against his back. I felt him relax slowly as I felt one of his large gloved hands cover mine. Kakashi was pretty toned I could tell even through the four or five layers of clothing he was wearing as he sighed and looked at the ceiling.

'I should begetting home Sasuke will be worrying' I said as he gave my hand a squeeze and let me go. I stepped back as I noticed he brushed one of the leaves of the little plant before following me.

I stopped and glared at the offending papers. As Kakashi came up behind me and swept all of the scrolls and papers back into two piles. One pile was for finished files and one for still to be reviewed files.

'Do I have to take them with me?' I asked as Kakashi shrugged. He seemed rather distant since my hug, maybe it had something to do with Mr. Ukki and whoever had given it to him.

'You can leave them here.' He said his voice strangely devoid of all emotion. I turned back to Kakashi as he wore his usual bored expression. I was beginning to think that this bored and aloof exterior was something he had cooked up to truly hide himself.

'Thanks' I said and grabbed a few scrolls just to read over the next little while. I looked back at the man standing beside me. 'Take it easy alright Kakashi-san. I'll see you tomorrow for that training.' I gave him a smile as he nodded. I let myself out as a hand gripped my wrist before I could close the door. I turned back to see a very tired looking Kakashi as my heart went out to the poor man.

'Thank you Yukiko-san' he said as he enveloped me in a warm embrace. I returned the hug as he tightened until I was almost crushed against him. He was incredibly strong as I noticed he was shaking slightly.

'Kakashi-san?' I asked as he didn't answer. I get a little concerned. 'Kakashi, Kakashi-kun?' I asked as I felt him draw in a long deep breath before a low chuckle as his hug lessened until he pulled back to look at me. There was a little pain still in the depths of his eye as I noticed that something about him had changed. He seemed almost more translucent now like he was building himself again.

'Thank you Yuki-san' he said and gave my forehead a kiss though his mask. A smile crossed my face as I poked his side. He skittered away from me as I raised an eyebrow. He feinted innocence as I laughed. The great copy ninja was ticklish!

'You're welcome Kakashi-kun, for what I don't know but I have a feeling you'll tell me when you figure it out within yourself' I smiled as he gave me one of his special eye smiled.

'Maybe.' He said as I turned to head down the stairs. 'Good night' his voice echoed down the hall as I gave a wave and turned to give him a smile as I saw him standing on the landing looking more like a teenager who had just realized he was in love with a stunning model.

'Sleep well Kakashi-kun!' I called as I let myself out and turned for home taking the rooftops as sleepy Konoha stretched out before me like a sea of little glimmers of hopes and dreams of all of its inhabitants. A smile crossed my face as I thought of a certain tall, silver haired jounin that was more than likely tailing me to make sure I made it home safely. Kakashi seemed to be a mystery as I realized how much influence I had on the guy and how much I wanted to pull him out of his self abusive cycle of self hatred. He really was a beautiful person, even if he commanded a legion of psychotic dogs that wanted to chew on my legs. I smiled as I doubled around the house and slipped in my bedroom window and put thoughts of everything out of my mind as I crashed onto the bed for some much needed sleep.


	8. Kakashi vs Yukiko

'MORNING, WAKE UP, MORNING, WAKE UP!' The obnoxious sound of my penguin alarm woke me as I glared at the infernal object. It would've been cute seeing the little bird's hat bob as its beak flapped open if it wasn't for the fact that it was waking me up after a nice long deep comatose like sleep.

'Shut up' I muttered turning off the alarm and letting my arm drop back onto the bed. I was nice and warm and cosy as I gave a lazy stretch. I looked at the calendar above my bed today was December 5 and as I glanced at my window I noticed it had snowed while I had been sleeping. A thin line of delicate frost lined the rims of my windows as a fine dusting of snow sat over all of Konoha.

I shuffled around my room as memories of last night made a smile come to my face. I disappeared into the bathroom as I noticed the house was strangely silent. They group must be running errands as I pulled off my face mask. The scars shone back at me as sadness welled up in my chest. I traced the largest and most knotted scar that ran like a choker around my neck as the painful memory swam into my head.

The battle against the two blacked cloaked men was well under way as Teacher and Akio held them off. I was holding my blizzard jutsu as I turned to his the bigger figure with Akane. I felt something cold slide past my neck before I had realized that a razor wire had been wrapped around my neck. I scrambled to get it off as I felt the wire biting. IT was agonizing as I felt it cutting deeper and deeper.

Yuuto was the first to react as he grabbed his dagger and had sliced the wire to release the tension. I had managed to get the wire off as my blizzard jutsu faded. There was a cold laugh as he managed to heal the worst of the bleeding.

'Run' he had whispered as I closed my eyes again remembering the anguish and pain in his eyes as he looked at all of the blood that was around us. 'I love you too much to let you die here.' He touched my face as I shook my head and stood.

I watched Akio fall as I stifled a scream as his entire arm rolled away from his body. Yuuto looked afraid as he took a fighting stance in front of me. 'I told you to run' he hissed as he took off toward the two cloaked figures. The battle waged for a little while longer before the same trick with the wire nearly caught me. I dove as Yuuto was caught. I tried to save him as I cut the wire but the damage had been done, his throat had been split as he dropped to the white snow a halo of red forming around his body.

I ripped my gaze away from the mirror and dropped my hand for the horrid maze of scars. Damn them. I would find them and make them pay for everything that had happened to me because of them. I got my shower, peed, and combed out my hair before dressing in my usual with a dark purple yukata and white obi.

I slung Akane over my shoulder as I headed downstairs. There was a note beside the bathroom that read that Sakura wanted my laundry for Sunday. I went back and put my laundry in the laundry room before grabbing an apple and some cheese from the fridge before remembering that I actually had to go for training. I was probably late. What was with this town and never giving exact times for anything when I was needed somewhere? But then again I had gotten the information from Kakashi and from what I was told he was late for EVERYTHING. Just my luck.

I put on my boots and remembered to bring extra weapons as I ran back upstairs and grabbed my white coat. I zipped it up and headed for training ground three. Which I had no idea where it was I realized as I stepped off of the front porch.

'Crap on a stick' I muttered as I guessed and took a left heading toward the hospital. I was bound to run into someone I knew as I walked, or at least I hoped I would. The streets seemed oddly empty as people seemed to be keeping warm inside of the restaurants and shops instead of their normal loitering on the streets.

I put my hands in my pockets as I felt the frost nipping at them and looked at all of the colourful window displays for Christmas and New years being put up or boasting the best prices. I walked by a weapons supplier and noticed some new throwing stars that had rose imprints on them. I sighed they were too impractical for me even if they were stunning as I looked at the many different Katanas and shuriken and other weapons I had no idea what they were or how they were used as I continued on.

A few kids ran by me chasing a cat as I grabbed the furry little creature by its ridiculous bow and immobilized it.

'Thank you lady!' a boy with a cape and gravity defying brown hair yelled as I handed over the cat. A boy with a runny nose and glasses and girl with red hair split into pig tails with rosy cheeks grabbed the cat from the lead boy.

'Thanks for catching him, that means our mission is complete and we can go see Sasuke's Onee-san's fight against Kakashi-san!' the girl crowed as the cat mewed pitifully.

'Hey can I go with you guys there?' I asked as the brown haired boy grinned. It was the easiest way to find where I was going without giving away who I was.

'Sure we have to drop Kiko off before we go but it's on the way!' he grinned as the glasses boy hid seemingly behind the leader I smiled.

'what are your names? I'm Yukiko' I said as the lead boy pointed to himself.

'I am Konohamaru, this is Udon' he pointed to the glasses wearing boy.

'Hey' he said sniffling as I gave him a smile.

'and this is-' Konohamaru was cut off.

'I'm Moegi!' the red head announced as I raised an eyebrow. She was definitely a live wire as she grinned from ear to ear at me.

'It's nice to meet you' I said as the trio turned and Konohamaru grabbed my hand and tugged me along behind him.

'You seem new, do you like Konoha?' he asked as I nodded.

'It's a very pretty town and all of the people here are so nice' I said as Udon tugged on my sleeve.

'Are you related to Hinabi Hyuuga?' udon asked as I smiled.

'Yes she's my half sister' I said as the others nodded. I didn't think they knew who I was just yet as Moegi ran to a really large and beautiful house with the cat swinging from her arms.

'OH KIKO!' the fat woman grabbed the cat from the little girl as the cat was crushed against the large woman's bosom. 'Thank you so much! Here's something a little extra for you and your friends.' She gave Moegi what looked like candied ginger as she gave a wave to the others and me on the street. 'Thank your new sensei for me.' She smiled and gave Moegi an extra helping of the candied ginger before the woman disappeared inside with her cat.

'Sweet candied ginger, I always did like that lady!' Konohamaru yelled as Moegi divided out the candy. She even gave me a little as I thanked her and we continued on. I had been going in completely the wrong direction as we headed north to the opposite of town from where the house was. Konohamaru and his genin team were hilarious to say the least. It seemed that Moegi had a huge crush on Konohamaru and Udon had one for Moegi but she never noticed and he respected Konohamaru as a best friend and leader. It was an interesting circle on how they worked as we crossed a rather large river.

On the left was a large red shoji gate that had a gravel path that led up a hill as we passed it. I was curious as to what was up there but the trio dragged me along.

'I hope were not late. I really wanted to see Naruto-san's teacher in action. He's supposed to be one of the best jounin in Konoha!' Moegi gushed as Konohamaru snorted.

'No way Naruto-san is the best ninja ever, his teacher could be better!' Konohamaru argued as Moegi gave him a dark look. I scruffed both of their hair.

'Naruto-chan still needs to practice more. He is a good ninja but Kakashi-kun was his teacher and bested him.' I said as the others stared at me.

'You know Naruto-san?' Konohamaru gaped as I nodded.

'We live in the same apartment house' I said as the three genin almost glowed with respect for me it seemed.

'You must be a really good ninja! You should replace Ebisu-sensei and become our new teacher!' Udon pointed at me as I blinked. What an intense group of kids.

'Where is your teacher anyway?' I asked looking around the jounin should've been with these kids at all times when on missions.

'Eh we lost him a while back' Konohamaru didn't sound too worried about that fact as we turned the corner in the road to see a group of people standing at a small wooden gate. What was going on? I looked at see Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke, Gai, Hinata, Neji, Shikamaru, Temari, Gaara, Kankuro, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and countless more that I had no idea who they were but were obviously ninja.

'Konohamaru where have you been!?' the exclamation made me jump as a tall thin man with a bandana and dark sunglasses came over to scold the genin.

'We were with Yukiko-san finishing our mission to catch Kiko' Udon explained as everyone turned to look at me. I smiled.

'Hey everyone sorry I'm late' I waved as everyone rolled their eyes or coughed or just looked generally annoyed.

'What took you so long Yukiko-chan?' Naruto yelled as I walked over.

'Well, no one told me the time I had to be here firstly. Secondly I had no idea where this place was and you gave the information to Kakashi-san of all people to pass onto me' I said as I saw Tsunade look away from me. Everyone turned to look at her with raised eyebrows.

'What?!' she snapped as everyone looked away. 'Can we get this started now?' she asked as I nodded and stepped through the crowd and the gate into the training grounds. Kakashi stood leaning against a tree reading his usual books completely unaware to his surroundings.

'Oi Kakashi-san you made me late and I'm not happy about it.' I snapped as he looked up. I gave him a glare as he raised an eyebrow.

'Sorry about that. Must've slipped my mind last night' he drawled as I glared at him. He pocketed his book as we both slid into fighting stances.

'Shall we get this party started?' I asked as he shrugged.

'Really this is to test you to see if you possess either of the family blood line limits.' He stated uncovering his sharingan. It was intimidating to be staring down someone even with one sharingan eye. I felt my mouth quirk upwards as I readied my hands with wire attached to strings of chakra as I readied myself to move with the forbidden speed jutsu at a seconds notice.

'There's no reason we can't make this fun though' I giggled as Kakashi made the first move. He ran at me as I ducked to the right he brought his leg around as I blocked with my arm attaching some of the wires around his ankle. I jumped back and pulled on the wires as Kakashi cut them with a kunai before he jumped into a back flip. I did the basic seals for the snowstorm jutsu as it immediately whited out the area.

Kakashi was on his guard as I attacked from his right side. He blocked and attempted to grab my arm as I pulled his legs out from underneath him. He did a back handspring as I jumped back narrowly avoiding a kick to my chin. That when I noticed his trap and I drew Akane and sliced through the shadow clone made of wire he had created behind me.

I spun around as I let the blizzard jutsu fall and quickly made the hand signs for a different jutsu. One I learnt from my sand genin team. At once the sand stirred under my feet as I felt it locating Kakashi. I weighed Akane in my hands, my eyes itched to be used but I couldn't give away that secret unless it was necessary.

The sand rustled to my right as I knew Kakashi had created clones and hid his chakra level. He was an excellent ninja. I created a group of six clones and split into the bushes. Each one of us took a different route as we looked for Kakashi. I heard a shift in the wind as a familiar scent of soap, cinnamon and pine reached my nose. I sliced the branch I was on with Akane as I saw Kakashi jump. I followed him hoping my clones had set up the trap as I did the hand signals and drew in a deep breath.

I was about to use a fireball jutsu as I felt the crackle of electricity around me. SHIT! I dropped from the branch and took a right around a tree as I heard chirping like a thousand birds were after me as I turned and blew the huge fireball. I jumped into the clearing and used the speed jutsu to hide behind a large oak tree.

The explosion rocked the surrounding area as the shock wave stripped the tree I was hiding behind of its branches. After I peek around to see the large smoking crater that had been forest I felt Kakashi's chakra flare from where I had set up the trap.

I ran to where I had felt the chakra flare as I noticed a scarecrow caught in my trap.

'That was a cute trick Yuki-san' Kakashi's smooth voice was right behind me as I turned to block four throwing stars with Akane. He turned to kick my side as I grabbed his ankle and twisted as he twisted and I jumped bringing him over my head and flung him into the ground. The clone disappeared in a ball of smoke as my eye twitched. He was purposely being lazy and wouldn't fight me.

'KAKASHI!' I roared as birds took off from their roost.

'yes?' his voice echoed as I knew he was trying to irritate me. Well he was succeeding as I felt the chakra prickling behind my eyes. I would not let control slip.

'you are infuriating' I giggled as he sauntered over to me. We stood with only inches apart from one another as I did the symbols for a substitution jutsu. Did he think I was that stupid?

'Only to you' he said as I kicked him in the shin and substituted myself as a rain of shuriken and throwing stars rained down on where we had been moments ago. I sat back on my branch. This was tedious without using my eyes and Kakashi knew that I was getting tired. I only had so much chakra to work with and Kakashi was probably an even greater ninja than I was.

I was going to have to pull out all of the stops to immobilize Kakashi before he could find out about my eye technique. I quickly backtracked looking for any noticeable level of chakra. I felt a slight level of chakra and knew Kakashi was hiding closer to the main training ground. I darted out into the clearing to see the group of spectators watching. Now to set my trap. It was a very simple one too as I made a bunch of complex jutsus and set them in various places around the circle. First one was a barrier jutsu so he couldn't leave and others were various levels of immobilizing jutsus.

'This is taking too long' Sasuke muttered as he stepped into the area unsheathing his sword. 'Fight me Onee-san' he said as I kept tabs on Kakashi. Great they were begging me to use the eye technique. Sasuke turned on his sharingan. DAMMIT two sharingan users? I was fucked if I couldn't use the eye technique. I was going to get my ass beaten.

Sasuke knew the speed jutsu too it seemed as I dove out of the way and drew Akane just in time to avoid having my head roll off my shoulders. I kicked as he jumped back before I heard the whistle of shuriken behind me. Damn Kakashi and Sasuke working together. I dove right missing the shuriken by inches and also blocking Sasuke's crazy amount of attacks from his sword.

'OW!' I snapped as something zapped me. I noticed the Sasuke had turned his sword into pure energy and had nicked my hand. I flipped backwards and attempted to do a roundhouse kick to Sasuke's head as I felt a strong arm wrap around my waist. I was pulled back against a strong back and a kunai was pressed against my throat as I panicked. My head exploded into colour as I could see entirely around me even Kakashi's face as he straggled to hold onto me as I thrashed. I did a substitution jutsu and managed to turn around and grab Kakashi and Sasuke's arm and fling them together.

Both men slammed into one another as I was hit with something from behind. I turned to see Jiraiya with a massive tree branch in his hands.

'DAMN OW, WHAT THE HELL?!' I cursed as I saw Sasuke and Kakashi get up.

'Come on, lets fight' Jiraiya laughed as I blinked and put a hand to the back of my head. My hand came back with a slight covering of blood. Great now I had a head wound. I turned and did a raining needle jutsu as I hightailed it into the tree line.

I heard the various curses as I slumped against the tree. Dammit the chakra usage was going to kill me as I kept my eyes open with my bloodline limit. I watched Kakashi and Sasuke take off to find me as I suppressed my chakra to a very low level.

This was getting silly, I stood and walked back to the main area again and sat down in the middle of it. I crossed my legs and concentrated some of my chakra. My eyes had the bloodline limit as everyone watched me on the other side of the fence. I could see their confusion as Sasuke was the first to approach. He came from behind me to the left as I gently touched my hands to the ground.

The jutsu I was using was very simple. It was an ice jutsu that I had learnt to keep kids away from me when I was at the academy. I sent a low pulse of chakra over the ground. It was undetectable until your chakra made contact with mine then you were in for a nasty surprise. Jiraiya and Kakashi hung back. I knew Jiraiya probably had seen this technique but Kakashi probably never had.

I allowed Sasuke to get quite close as soon as I felt Kakashi's foot make contact I activated the Jutsu. Instantly the snow on the ground wrapped around their arms and legs and froze them in place. Effectively immobilizing them completely as I heard loud clapping from behind me I turned to see Jiraiya as he walked over my ice jutsu and helped me to my feet.

'So you do have a bloodline limit just not an expected one' he clapped me again and nearly knocked me over. I laughed as Naruto bounded over.

'That was AWESOME!' he laughed and pointed at Sasuke and Kakashi still frozen in their running stances as Kakashi gave me a look.

'Can you let us go? I think you won' he stated as I dropped the jutsu and the ice remained but was breakable and not like iron as it had been when it was infused with chakra. Sasuke broke his and came to stand beside me. He was taller than me as I put my arm around his waist. He was a little surprised I could tell but didn't push me away which was very odd for Sasuke the iceberg. Kakashi sauntered over as well as Tsunade as I gulped. I had lost control when Kakashi had grabbed me. They had all seen my technique. I was so screwed.

'Well the good news is that you have neither the sharingan nor the byakugan. The bad news is that because it is neither you are going to be under constant surveillance until we know more about your blood line limit.' Tsunade commanded as my heart fell. I was going to become a guinea pig as to how the cross breeding of clans can create freaky new bloodlines.

'hey cheer up at least were not going to stick you with needles and put you through rigorous tests to see what your blood limit can do right Tsunade-chan?' Jiraiya put one of his massive hands on my lower back as I shot him a warning glare. He didn't move his hand as Tsunade eyed him.

'We may have to run a few tests in the future if anything pops up that could harm anyone else.' She looked at Sasuke as he gave her a dark look which she returned with a glare.

'Well I'm going with my brother to lunch.' I stated and began walking away from the little group of people that had in effect sealed me into living in this village until the day I died. This did not sit well with me as I dropped my arm from Sasuke's waist. Since the fight had ended most of the spectators had left to go about their daily lives. I pushed past Gai and Tsume and into the street as Sasuke followed me calmly.

'Where do you want to eat?' he asked as I shrugged. He came to walk beside me as I headed back into town. 'I know a good curry place' he said as I smiled.

'Sounds good, I didn't know you liked curry' I said as Sasuke shrugged.

'There's a lot about me that no one knows.' He said as I punched his shoulder. He looked confused before a smirk slid onto his face. He tapped my shoulder back as I laughed.

'Well then you'll have to tell me more Sasuke-chan' I said as he put his hands in his pockets. We continued to walk I was sure we were going to run into someone sooner or later as we continued our walk.

'What do you want to know about me?' he asked as I thought. Might as well start off basic if I was going to learn anything about him.

'Hm, what is your favorite book?' I asked as Sasuke didn't look at me.

'I don't read for fun.' He stated as I sighed and tried again.

'Okay, what is your favorite colour?' I asked as he shrugged.

'I don't have a favorite colour.' He stated as I gave him a disbelieving look.

'Work with me here. I know you have a favorite colour' I stated as he gave me a look.

'Blue I suppose' he muttered as I nodded.

'Do you want to ask me any questions?' I asked as he didn't seem to notice I had spoken to him. 'So why does Kakashi-kun hate you so much?' I asked as Sasuke raised his eyebrow at the honorific I used before he looked rather angry.

'Kakashi-sensei along with most of the people here don't trust our family because or our history within the last 10 years.' He said as I looked at him.

'I know Itachi killed our family and that in itself was reason enough but… what happened to you?' I asked as Sasuke looked grim.

'I was stupid. I went looking for power and went to the one person who I know could give it to me. The one person this entire village was sworn to hate. Orochimaru' I froze at that name as the evil snake man's laughing face loomed in my memory.

'Why did you go to him?' I asked as Sasuke shrugged.

'I'm still on a mission to destroy my brother for what he did to our family. Orochimaru marked me to come in search of his power. It was logical to go to someone who could give you immortality and power beyond belief. So I left Konoha and went and trained with Orochimaru' he stated simply as I gaped at my little brother.

'you-you-you. LEFT?! And went to an evil IMMORTAL ninja and trained under him. Then what? did you magically leave and come back to Konoha?' I asked actually angry at his stupidity. He glared at me coldly as I glared back.

'No, Orochimaru wanted my body but Naruto convinced me to come back with him. Idiot. I beat Orochimaru and thought I'd killed him but it seems not for he attacked you. I came back to Konoha in an attempt to learn more about the family and how if there was any I could track Itachi to kill him' Sasuke clenched his fist as I sighed. This was obviously deeply rooted anger within Sasuke if he needed to kill his brother, my brother this badly. I sighed.

'You know you pretty much betrayed all of your friends, loved ones, the village, Kakashi-kun but you probably know this. But remember the person you hurt the most is yourself for your own foolishness. I think going off after Itachi is stupid. As for coming back to Konoha you're really going to have to face a great deal of anger from the people, even more so now that I'm here.' I said as Sasuke met my eyes. I put a hand on his shoulder as he looked away.

'I made my choices and I will stick by my decisions.' He said as I poked him in the side. He turned to glare at me as I noticed we were outside of a little curry shop.

'Then don't be angry if I don't support your decisions or stand in your way' I stated as Sasuke raised an eyebrow at me. He opened the door to the shop as he ushered me inside. It was done in a sand country style as a petite girl seated us in a booth near the back. She seemed wary of us as she collected our drink orders and left the menu's on the side of the table.

'So how much of this part of the world have you traveled?' Sasuke asked as I glanced at my menu.

'I've taught in Suna and I've been to Tea country and I think we got lost once and ended up in Stone' I said scanning my menu.

'Then you don't know much about this continent.' Sasuke assumed as I shook my head.

'No I know all of its history, the different ethnic groups and what irritations each group has between the other and who's allied with whom and who hates who. Rin has a great deal of information' I stated as the little waitress came back. We ordered as the bell over the door tinkled. I looked up to see Temari and her brothers walk into the little restaurant.

'Yukiko-sensei!' Temari waved as I waved back. She came over to the table as Sasuke seemingly hid behind his menu. 'That fight was a good one. I've never seen a jutsu that immobilizes someone like that you're still learning new jutsus. Hey Kankuro-chan, Gaara-chan come here.' She called as the two young men walked over. A smile came to my face as I looked at my grown students. Kankuro still wore his war paint and Gaara still had his angry vibe even though I noticed that he looked much more relaxed and it actually looked like he had been sleeping.

'Gaara-kun, Kankuro-kun how have you been it's been almost ten years since I saw you guys.' I said as the two looked wary at me before Kankuro recognized me.

'Ah, Yuki-sensei you look so different with your mask. When did you start wearing that I thought it was only missions you wore it for?' Kankuro stated as I shrugged.

'Ease mostly Kankuro-kun. But anyway how are you all I haven't seen you in ages! Gaara-kun how is Shukaku?' I asked as a smile crossed Gaara's face. I blinked and backed away slowly with my hands raised. 'Sorry! Didn't mean to insult you Gaara-kun' I said as the others looked at me before laughing.

'Don't worry yuki-sensei Shukaku was removed from me awhile ago. I no longer have the beast inside of me.' His voice was low and rough as a smile crossed my face. I walked back over to my seat as Sasuke raised his eyebrow at me. I gave him a look as he went back to his menu.

'Oh well I guess that's good. So why are you here in Konoha?' I asked as Temari stretched.

'Gaara-chan is now the kazekage and we've been doing some paperwork here to ally both nations together' Temari said as I smiled. Gaara had done something I thought would've been impossible. He had won the hearts of his entire village and become the Kazekage even with Shukaku controlling all of his motions.

'Congrats Gaara-kun' I smiled as the teen seemed a little surprised by my congratulations.

'Eh sensei, I still have that puppet you gave me' Kankuro laughed as I smiled as he pulled out the tiny childlike marionette. It only stood about a foot high as Kankuro made it do a back flip and bow. I laughed and clapped as Kankuro put the marionette back into his pack between the three large scrolls he carried.

'My you all have grown so much.' I sighed suddenly feeling very old as the three teens smiled at me. Even Garza's mouth quirked up on the side. 'How about you eat with Nii-chan and myself?' I asked as the sand siblings all looked rather shocked.

'You're related to… him?' Kankuro muttered as I nodded.

'He's my half brother and before you try to lecture me Temari and you get on about what you know about his past Kankuro I already know and love him all the same.' The two teens closed their mouths in a rather irritated manner as Garra smirked at his siblings.

'It seems that sensei knows you too well' Garra muttered as he took a seat next to me. The others joined as our little waitress came back. We all ordered and Sasuke kept quiet as I put my hand over his in his lap. Sasuke didn't move as I sighed and took a sip of my iced tea.

'I can't believe how cold it is here this time of year' Temari complained as she wrapped her hands around a mug of hot tea. 'It's crazy I had to buy a new coat today because of the snow!' she moaned as her brothers rolled their eyes.

'I bought one a year ago when we first came around this time, you should've done the same' Kankuro said leaning back in his chair. I had stripped off my coat and was sitting in my yukata and mesh shirt thinking of opening my obi as Temari was still wearing her coat.

'It's the dampness I find irritating' I said as they looked at me. Garra nodded in agreement.

'It is quite damp in this country' he agreed as Temari shrugged.

'Its irritating that I have to wear socks to bed or my feet freeze' she said as I laughed and Kankuro snickered. It was like old times with the group except that Garra now talked. Sasuke stayed silent as I felt a hand on the back of my head. I turned to look at Sasuke as he gently prodded where I had been hit by Jiraiya and his enormous tree branch.

'This is a pretty serious wound' Sasuke muttered as I held my breath as sharp needles of pain stabbed at my skull as he assessed the damage.

'Didn't you get that looked at by Sakura or a medic after the match?' Temari asked as I blushed. It had completely slipped my mind actually.

'It slipped my mind actually' I admitted as Kankuro shook his head.

'Same old sensei, forgetting her injuries to just keep on trucking, you really are an anomaly if there has ever been one' Kankuro stated as I gave him a bland look.

'Thanks and aren't you a little old to be drawing on your face?' I stated as Temari smacked her brother's shoulder. Everyone snickered at my comment as he glared at me.

'She burned you badly Kankuro-chan' Gaara said with amusement on his face. Kankuro looked sulky before he laughed it off.

'You always were snappy with comebacks too, no wonder I had a huge crush on you when I was 8' he said as I laughed. Sasuke looked rather bored as our food arrived. I dove into my butter chicken and basmati rice as the sand siblings each had a round of spicy curries and Sasuke took a bowl of mild tikka musala and began eating. The food was excellent as Kankuro laughed at how my bowl was full one minute and empty the next.

'You're as bad as that Kakashi guy now sensei' Temari laughed as I giggled.

'Maybe.' I said as mango ice cream was served for dessert.

'So Sensei you're working here now right, why don't you come to Suna soon? You can see all of our new remodeling and new academy that we just opened.' Temari said as I thought about how tempting the offer was but I had a job to do here and I think they needed me here more then they did in Suna.

'Maybe when things settle down a bit here I could come and teach for a semester at the academy in Suna and you could show me how much the city has changed' I said as Gaara seemed pleased by my choice.

'Konoha is facing difficult times right now. It is best that you stay here sensei' Gaara stated as I nodded. Gaara always had known the appropriate course of action even in the most dire of situations. He had a knack for that kind of logic.

A loud beeping made me look at Temari as she cursed.

'I'm late for a meeting to set up the chounin exams with the committee. Sorry guys' she stated and left the restaurant slapping some yen on the table for her meal. We paid and left the restaurant. It was still cold as Kankuro cursed the frigidity of the climate.

'What are you doing for Christmas and new year this year sensei?' Gaara asked as I shrugged.

'Probably spending it here with my brother and his friends. You should come over we can celebrate some of my traditions this year like decorating a pine tree and eating sweets and hot chocolate.' I said as Kankuro looked like he was in love.

'Really?! I haven't had any of your Christmas or new years foods since you taught us. That stuff was amazing!' he looked like a kid in a candy shop as I put a hand on his shoulder.

'Sure I'll make tons so everyone can come over and just hang out and have fun' I said as Sasuke looked skeptical. I wondered what traditions he had.

'Well see you 'round' Kankuro and Gaara waved as they headed back into town. Sasuke looked at me.

'You're close with them' he stated as I nodded.

'I taught them when they were still in the academy they were all quite advanced to be in the academy. Even Gaara-kun' I admitted as Sasuke gave his usual 'Hn'.

'I'm heading back to the house.' He stated and disappeared in a flurry of leaves. Great now I was left in Konoha by myself. I sighed and started walking. There wasn't much to see other than the rows and rows of stores and restaurants broken by homes and apartment complexes. I took a left to find myself standing at the entrance to a set of hot springs. I sighed at the warmth of the area as I noticed a familiar red coat. I walked over to where a large grove of pine trees stood. I heard snickering as I looked around the branches to see Jiraiya peeking through a knothole presumably into the girl's springs.

'Pretty young ladies in their prime of their youth!' he sung as I drew in a breath.

'PERVY SAGE!' I yelled in his ear as the large man jumped four feet into the air, smacking himself in the head with the over hang of the wall. He hopped around cursing as I clutched my sides laughing. After his head had stopped hurting he glared at me.

'that was very rude Yukiko-san' he stated as I rolled my eyes.

'You are such a pervert' I stated as he mocked hurt.

'I am not I am doing research for my newest novel!' he stated as I gave him a disbelieving look. 'I am!' he stated as I shook my head.

'You better run' I said as I saw the young ladies now dressed brandishing weapons as the sage gulped and fled the hoard tore after him as I grinned. 'hell hath no fury' I quoted before turning and continuing along my way.

I walked along the road until I noticed the little local ramen shop and saw the characteristic orange pant legs on a stool inside. I smiled and pushed back the cloth over hang as Naruto turned to grin at me his mouth full of noodles.

'Yuki-chan!' Naruto grinned as there was a chuckle from the man beside him. I turned to see a kind faced man with an old scar across the bridge of his nose. His hair was pulled into a ponytail as I smiled at him. 'Yuki-chan this is Iruka-sensei.' Naruto introduced us as I sat down.

'Nothing for me' I waved the cook away as he smiled and went to talk to another customer.

'So you must be the new lady in Kakashi's life' Iruka said as Naruto was absorbed in his food. I blushed and laughed.

'No no, nothing like that were just friends' I stated as Iruka laughed.

'Sorry, I was just hoping the poor dope had finally found someone to lavish some attention on and not be such a loner.' He laughed as a very familiar chuckle came from behind me. A smile crossed my face as everyone's favorite lazy ninja showed up.

'Don't call the kettle black Iruka' Kakashi scolded as the brunette laughed.

'Right Kakashi how was your battle this morning?' he asked as Kakashi rotated one of his shoulders.

'I think I got a bit of frostbite from my ice prison' he said as I felt a hand glide along the side of my hip. Right as if he didn't have nay interest in me at all.

'Oh now Kakashi come on it was just a little ice' I said as Iruka seemed surprised.

'You fought Kakashi this morning?' he asked as I nodded. 'Impressive. You must be Sasuke's sister' he said.

'and Hinata's' I added as Iruka gave me a warm smile. I noogied Naruto as the teen gave me a grumpy look. 'And I've taken this one as a surrogate brother because he wont leave me alone' I joked as Naruto laughed and gave me a hug. Iruka looked incredibly happy as Kakashi touched the back of my head.

'Haven't you had that wound looked after yet?' he asked as I shook my head causing a few shooting pains into my neck.

'That looks serious.' Iruka said as I shrugged.

'It really doesn't hurt. Plus I hate hospitals so I'll get Sakura to take a look later on' I brushed them off. Kakashi left his hand on my lower back as Iruka had another mouthful of noodles.

'So Iruka how are the new genins progressing?' Kakashi asked as I saw the brunette Naruto had been with the night of the bar fight hand Kakashi a cup of hot tea.

'Well they're better than this lot was. Most of them are actually passing' Iruka jokingly elbowed Naruto as the teen scowled and shoveled more food into his mouth. He must really love ramen not to comment as Kakashi chuckled.

'YUUUUUUUUUKI-SENSEI!' I heard a shout as Konohamaru's face appeared beside me. I felt the warmth of Kakashi's hand move as the genin grabbed my arm and hauled me out of the warm booth and onto the street.

'What Konohamaru-kun?' I asked as he looked around to see if anyone was around. I could tell everyone in the Ramen shop was listening and probably watching as I put my hands in my pockets.

'I have a problem and you're the only person I think can help me because you're a girl' he whispered as I stifled a laugh. Poor boy he seemed completely out of sorts, I wondered if it was about a girl.

'Well how can I help?' I asked as Konohamaru blushed as looked at his feet as he drew patterns in the dirt. I waited and tried my hardest not to laugh as he muttered something into the dirt. 'What?' I asked as he looked at me his face was bright red.

'I need to learn how to kiss for Christmas will you teach me?' He asked as I froze. There was a loud round of laughter as Naruto came out form the ramen shop. Kakashi and Iruka followed as Konohamaru went so red I thought his head would explode!

'Konohamaru why would you ask Yuki-san something like that when you could ask Moegi?' Iruka said as the genin looked at the ground again.

'Because I made her mad' he said as I crouched to his level.

'And how did you do that?' I asked as he looked like he might cry.

'I asked her if she'd teach me and she said that I didn't take her feelings for me seriously! Then she hit me and ran away!' Konohamaru snarled as I ruffled his hair. He looked at me as Kakashi crouched beside me and fixed the boy with his usual lax stare.

'Konohamaru you went about it rather wrong if you want to kiss Moegi.' He stated as Konohamaru glared at the jounin.

'What would you know you don't have a girlfriend!' the boy shouted as I punched his shoulder. The boy glared at me as I gave him one of my frosty stares as his attitude improved greatly. Konohamaru was exactly like dealing with Naruto or any ADHD ridden kid that didn't have a firm grasp on reality.

'Do you want help or not?' I asked as the genin nodded. I heard Naruto draw a breath to speak as I turned to see Iruka smack him on the back of the head to shut him up. Those two were definitely like brothers to one another as I turned back to Konohamaru only to find him and Kakashi were walking off in the other direction.

'HEY!' I yelled as both males looked back at me.

'Yes?' Kakashi drawled as I waved my arms. What had just happened?

'What?' I asked in defeat as Kakashi waved at me.

'I'll see you later Yuki-san get that head wound looked after' he muttered before disappearing with the distressed genin. I blinked.

'How you keep up with that man I'll never know' Iruka clapped my shoulder as a group of giggling chounins rounded a corner. I blinked as they began to giggle.

'Iruka-san!' they waved as Iruka blushed and looked at the ground. Oooooooooooh it seemed like the little school teacher had a fan club. Time for some fun! I grinned and slung my arm over his shoulders.

'Sorry ladies he's all mine!' I cackled as they all looked rather confused then angry as I turned and ran dragging Naruto and Iruka behind me.

'GET HER!' I heard as I ran laughing the two men behind me following at a close distance in fright at the fan-girls as I took a sharp right and pressed them up against a wall. The heard of screaming girls rushed past as clouds of dust and slush were thrown everywhere in their wake.

'You shouldn't provoke them!' Iruka panted as he leant against the wall and gave a breathy chuckle. 'They're rabid!' he wheezed as I laughed.

'How bad can they be?' I laughed as Naruto gave a strangled yelp and pointed to the entrance of the alleyway. A group of girls were standing at the far side as one of them glared at me. 'Run…, RUN, RUN, RUN, and RUN!!' I yelled shoving the two guys ahead of me as the rabid fan-girls gave chase. I was laughing my head off as I vaulted over an empty barrel and Naruto knocked it in their path. Iruka was speedy as he took a right and scaled a wall as we followed and sat on the rooftop laughing ourselves silly.

'Oh man I thought they were going to eat our souls!' Naruto roared as I clutched my stomach. Oh it hurt the laughing it hurt!

'No just mine and steal Yuki-san's for penance!' Iruka laughed as I coughed and tried to stop laughing.

'I had no idea you had fan girls Iruka-sensei' Naruto admitted as Iruka rubbed the back of his neck.

'I saved one of them from walking on an exploding note upon returning from a mission. Ever since them they follow me around and try to ambush me' he sighed as I flopped down beside him. 'It's really annoying because I get attention I don't want' he stated as Naruto flopped down in front of us.

'It's better than getting ignored!' Naruto whined as I punched him. The idiot was so oblivious. 'Ow what was that for!' he glared at me rubbing the sore spot on his head.

'You idiot! Hinata has a huge thing for you! You should ask her out you'd make her the happiest girl alive!' I couldn't believe I was trying to set up my kid sister with Naruto of all people. Maybe I had gone crazy?

'Hinata? No she'd never go for someone like me.' Naruto looked like a kicked puppy as it was Iruka who hit him. I was surprised as was Naruto as the young man fixed his previous student with a look only a teacher could give.

'Hinata has had a crush on you since you both were in the academy. You have no idea how hard it was for me to get her to concentrate and learn her material because she was so focused on you.' Iruka ruffled Naruto's hair as the teen looked confused, then sad, then a triumph in his eyes as he stood.

'I'm going to go find Hinata and ask her out BELIEVE IT!' he yelled and jumped off of the roof. He really was a whirlwind as I looked at Iruka. The teacher sighed and lay back on the roof of the building. It was surprisingly warm and free of snow up here as I leant against a metal water cooler. My mind drifted as I was suddenly thinking of a certain tall haired jounin and the other evening. Just how did Kakashi know how to handle all of those family documents? I looked at Iruka, would he know? He seemed very close to the seemingly distant jounin.

'Iruka-san can I ask you something about Kakashi-kun?' I asked as Iruka gave me a slight smile.

'I'll answer to the best of my knowledge. He seems quite taken with you and I've never seen him so taken except for with Cho.' Iruka said sadly. I corrected myself. Two questions to ask Iruka.

'Ok firstly, Kakashi-kun offered to help me with the Uchiha family head paperwork and he seems to know exactly what he's doing. How is that?' I asked as Iruka gave a sad chuckle.

'You are a smart one Yuki-san' He said and rolled to face me. 'You know about Kakashi's father right?' I shuddered as the memories I had gained from Kakashi rolled forth. I beat them back as I forced myself to nod. My head wound throbbed as I bit back the pain. 'Well after Kakashi's father's death his mother blamed Kakashi for the suicide. I know it drove Kakashi mad always blaming himself and trying to be better than his father and show his mother he wasn't anything like his father. Kakashi was hard enough on himself that when his mother went mad and attempted to kill him he blamed himself for not being able to stop her when she also killed herself.' Iruka seemingly knew Kakashi's pain as I looked up at the sky. It was snowing again. Kakashi had had a hard life growing up. Nothing seemed to be easy for the poor man.

'That's so tragic' I said quietly as Iruka looked up at the sky.

'After their deaths he was the sole heir to the entire family fortune. They are quite an old family and Kakashi's father was an only child as is Kakashi. He's the end of the line for a large family with a great deal of money. He had to suffer through all of that paperwork by himself. He even refused help from me the stubborn ass' Iruka laughed as I smiled. Definitely sounded like Kakashi. Iruka sat up and rolled his shoulders. 'Any other questions?' he asked as I nodded and let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding.

'Who is or was Cho?' I asked as Iruka suddenly looked utterly depressed.

'It really isn't my place to tell you. All I can say was that she was a sand kunoichi that we had captured during a raid and she was proven innocent but was forced to live here in Konoha until the war was over. She was shockingly beautiful and even a better ninja than Kakashi but sadly she met a rather untimely end battling against the Akatsuki. She drowned in a tsunami' Iruka said sadly as I nodded. The poor girl and poor Kakashi, I recalled his fond memories of her as I saw how beautiful she was. Long toffee coloured hair, dark glittering eyes, thin with curves in all of the right places, skin the same tone as mocha without a blemish, a straight nose and gently curving red lips.

I smacked my head back against the water cooler. There was no way I could ever compete with someone like that! Even if the poor girl was dead, I knew Kakashi still longed for her and missed her.

'Thanks Iruka-kun. I guess I'll see you later.' I said and stood. I was feeling supremely inadequate after what Iruka had told me and from what I'd seen from Kakashi's memories still bouncing around my head. I stepped off the side of the building as the air rushed past me as I used chakra in my legs to absorb the impact as I walked down the street.

Why was this bothering me so much? Other than the fact that Kakashi's love of his life died prematurely and it's almost like I've stepped in and taken her place. Oh wait that was the problem! But it really wasn't my fault if Kakashi liked me; I mean it was a good thing he was getting over Cho being murdered on a mission. Unless I was a stand in to fill a hole in his heart from Cho.

Did guys really do that? I sighed and noticed I was standing by the red shoji gate. Might as well go take a look I had nothing better to do. I climbed the little path noticing how the snow clung to the branches as my mind swirled around Kakashi, Cho, and my paperwork. Naruto and Hinata popped into my mind as I reached the top and noticed the large polished granite monument looming in the middle of the clearing covered in snow.

The snow scrunched under my feet as I pushed my mind mumblings aside and brushed the new snow off of the monument. Flowers and little tokens were covered in snow at the base of the monument as I deciphered the words on the monument.

'To all of our valuable shinobi and kunoichi who gave their lives in protecting their home and to all of the passion and love they put into their work.' I read to myself as I looked at the hundreds of names that were engraved all of the grey blue surface. It was touching that they had a memorial for their warriors. Rin never commemorated their lost kunoichi or shinobi. We were to accept that death was a part of everyday life and that lives lost were unfortunate but not terribly serious.

A smile crossed my face as I touched the stone and leant against its freezing surface. Right then, even miles away from home, I felt the closest I had to Yuuto and Akio since the day they died. I know it sounded utterly stupid but it was true. Their names would never be remembered, they were more of the unfortunate dead of Rin.

Memories of Yuuto flew through my mind as I felt hot tears prickle behind my eyes. Yuuto, his kind smile, soft eyes, and strong hands, he never wanted to be an assassin he wanted to be a doctor and save people not kill them. He never got the chance, struck down before he had a chance. He would've been alive today if he hadn't stepped in the way to block the wire attack.

I slammed my hand into the ground as snow flew up around me. I thought I'd worked through all of this about Yuuto and Akio's deaths. And I had, Yuuto's death still bothered me probably because we had planned to get married in a year after graduation. I sighed and sat back on the snow, how had I gotten to the ground I had no idea nor did I care that my butt was getting soaked. I looked at the little mementos that people had left at the bottom of the monument.

Yuuto why did you have to leave so soon? I packed snow together in my hands as the cold bit through my skin. I molded four figured and concentrated my chakra into the figures. A certain photo took shape in my mind as I hardened the snow into sold ice infusing the tiny crystals with my chakra. I closed my eyes and focused feeling the ice take shape in my hands until the ice felt more like marble than ice. I looked down to see a perfect replica of my photo as a statue. A smile came to my face as a shadow fell across me.

'A ninja never shows emotion' Kakashi's voice was warm behind me as he came into view sitting in the snow beside me. 'Besides, crying doesn't suit you' he muttered as he cupped my cheek and brushed away a few stray tears I didn't know had fallen. I looked at the man beside me as he gave me one of his eye smiles.

'Why are you here?' I muttered as I rubbed my thumb over the little statue I had created. A warm arm was wrapped over my shoulders as Kakashi pulled me to my feet. I set my little statue by the monument as I turned to look at him. He seemed so much older in that one moment, like he was an old man in young mans body.

'I come here to… remember everyone' he sighed as I hugged him. He returned the hug as he put his chin on top of my head.

'You shouldn't blame yourself Kakashi-kun. I know it's hard and I know that it'll haunt you forever but you shouldn't let your grief overtake you.' I muttered into his chest as I was suddenly crushed against him. He held me like I was the only object keeping him from falling through a black hole. 'I know that you keep re-running all of their deaths in your head analyzing them, how you could've changed the outcome. But Kakashi-kun they're gone. There's nothing you can do about that fact. Mourn for them and move on Kakashi. I know Cho, Obito, Rin, and the fourth hokage would never want you to stop living because they died. They would want you to be happy, to live your life. To reach out to others, to love' I whispered as I looked up into his face. There were tears in his eyes as I brushed them away.

'Ninja never show emotion' He muttered as I gave him a smile.

'Rules need to be broken sometimes Kakashi-kun.' I said quietly as suddenly our masks were gone and his lips were on mine. The kiss was different from our first as he sucked on my lower lip I sighed as our tongues entwined. Kakashi's hands moved to my lower back and the back of my neck as I slid my hands into his hair. He tasted strangely like strawberries as it seemed that something had changed in Kakashi. Even while he kissed me he seemed lighter and surer of what he wanted for himself. I wasn't talking about sex either.

Sadly I drew back needing oxygen as he stood to his full height and I rested my head against his chest.

'Thank you Yuki-chan and I know how much you miss Yuuto but at least you know all he wanted was your happiness' he whispered as I felt tears come but not fall as I tightened my grip on him. He gave a deep chuckle as I felt him run a hand through my hair.

A siren wailed in the distance as I looked up at Kakashi.

'There's been a breech of the city wall.' He stated as my hand went to Akane and I looked up at him.

'Let's go' I muttered as I flipped up my mask and we both took off in the direction of hokage tower.

REVIEW! It's the little button to the left. Thanks =D


	9. KABOOM! and frost

We ran along the roof tops as civilians ran past us to the furthest point away from the breach as I was jostled and even hit by one man in his attempt to flee. A hand grabbed me and pulled me up as I saw Genma raise his eyebrow.

'For an assassin you're doing a poor job' he joked as I rolled my eyes.

'Thanks Genma-kun' I laughed as we continued on. We landed on a roof as I saw another figure before a white light started to spread.

'HIT THE DECK!' I yelled as I grabbed Kakashi and Genma and jumped off of the side of the building. When we landed we covered our heads as the shockwave rippled through the city, destroying buildings closer to the blast and breaking windows, ripping off roofing tiles, Carts over turned as suddenly the BOOM followed.

I got off of the ground and looked at the building chunks and TV antennae lying around me. I looked for the others as I heard a groan and Kakashi appeared from under a slab of drywall. Genma popped up from under an overturned cart.

'Everyone alright?' I heard Sakura call as I looked up to see her standing on a tile less roof.

'We're fine. What happened?' I asked as Sakura looked out from where we had been standing.

'It looks like someone set off an enormous bomb. There's fighting too I don't know what's going on thought. It might be Akatsuki' she said as Kakashi looked at me. We both nodded as Sakura took the lead toward the main battle. I cursed my luck as I realized I had left my dragon mask back at the house. I stopped on a rooftop as the others continued along. Kakashi stopped and looked back as I waved for him to continue. He nodded as I concentrated on a summoning jutsu. Within a second there was a loud pop and the wooden mask dropped into my hand with a flourish of snow. I threw the mask on as I ran to catch up with the others.

I stood on the last house as another enormous explosion caused me to throw up my arm to shield my eyes and face from the light and heat of the blast. A few yells rose up as I noticed a blonde girl riding an enormous white bird circling the area. I focused chakra into my eyes as I got a good look at this person. She seemed to be wearing a black cloak with red clouds painted on it as I noticed the bird swoop toward me.

'Yuki Run!' I heard Sasuke yell as I jumped off the side of the building as I heard the explosion. Sasuke disappeared from view as he sprinted into the dense foliage of the nearby forest. I Jumped off the next two buildings and took cover in the trees as I watched the blonde circle on her bird again. The battle ground was getting bad as more and more forces mounted and more ninja were slain by the strong foes that seemed to have an unlimited supply of chakra as they toyed with the Konoha forces. Something wasn't right, it was almost like they were waiting for someone to show themselves to them as they pushed the Konoha shinobi around like dolls.

'That was too close' I heard Kakashi's voice beside me as I turned to see him standing on a branch not far from me. He had his sharingan activated as I gave a nod breathing hard. I turned to look at the main battle front where scorched grass and flaming tree branches littered the battle ground. The ground also had a few bodies lying on it as I noticed a smaller almost crouched man with a scorpion tail spear three men at once. I cringed, that had to hurt as I noticed the huge man with blue skin wielding a ridiculously large sword as he swung it through a ninjutsu. That's when I noticed the fourth one, a small man with long black hair and red eyes had a group of men screaming and writhing on the ground in pain as I nearly felt my heart stop. Could it be?

'Yuki-chan we have to beat them down as fast as we can. I'll go for the blue man and the black haired man, you go first for the bird guy and the puppet. Don't do anything reckless that could either damage yourself or the town, and try to keep casualties to a minimum' Kakashi commanded as I nodded and looked upward.

'I'll do my best' I said as Kakashi put a hand on my shoulder.

'Get Naruto-kun or Shikamaru-kun to help. It'll be easier with more than just yourself and you'll keep the destruction contained. Make sure the bird does not leave the battle field.' He commanded as I nodded. The blonde was circling the smoldering building where I had just disappeared. He seemed like he was looking for something specific like the other black cloaked invaders. He was the most devastating at the moment and he needed to be brought down first. I didn't have time to go looking for Naruto or Shikamaru because it would draw attention to myself and give away my ambush. But, I needed to bring him closer for any of my jutsus to work as the perfect long range jutsu came to mind.

Needles of 10, 000 volts no jutsu was the perfect jutsu if I could only get the blonde closer to me. Or effectively have him capture me so I could focus the attack more accurately. I turned to the pitted and blood slicked field. This was my best chance as I jumped out of the tree and ran out onto the field. I saw the blonde go into a dive as I heard a shout from Kakashi. I hoped he would understand my seemingly rash decision as I ran for where Naruto was fighting the scorpion man. I was coming up on the battle quickly as I watched the bird approach me from behind. I made the hand signs for a basic fire ball jutsu as a ploy but as I breathed out the fire ball jutsu at the scorpion the bird man grabbed me and hoisted me into the air.

'YUKIKO!' Kakashi yelled as I struggled as I quickly made the one handed hand signs for the lightning jutsu. Kakashi was chasing the bird from the ground as he grabbed a forgotten katana and blocked a blow from the blue shark man. It seemed that they didn't want anyone following the blonde as I saw Kakashi struck in the shoulder from behind by one of his fellow ninja. I noticed the scorpion man had chakra strings attached to various people. Dead people too. Kakashi fought against them as he disappeared from view as the blonde flew higher and turned away. I had to make sure he didn't fly over the town or away from the battle field as I struggled to look at the ground. The blonde readjusted her grip on me as I was pulled against a flat chest. Wait a second….

'Hey don't struggle I'm not going to hurt you, Hm' it turned out the blonde was actually a man as a smile crossed my face. He had waited too long and my chakra was almost perfect for the jutsu. He couldn't see it under my mask as I felt the imminent static building. An opponent that wasn't going to hurt a woman, how chivalrous of him.

'Too bad I'm going to hurt _you_ rather badly.' I stated as his eyes widened as I allowed the needles to form from the moisture in the air and slam into the bird charged with electricity. 'FUCK!' the blonde roared as the entire bird detonated. One thing I hadn't counted on was that the bird was a giant explosive bomb. My bad! The entire bird exploded as a wall of flames engulfed me. The heat was intense as I felt the flames burn my clothes and skin underneath. I had no idea where the blonde had gone as I doused myself in a water jutsu to put out the flames. I dropped like a stone toward the ground as I realized how high up we had been. This was going to hurt if I landed wrong!

I braced myself pushing chakra into my limbs as something grabbed me. The wind was knocked out of me as the pair of arms crushed me against a chest and we skidded along the grass. I looked up to see the smoke from the explosion rolling through the air as the blonde man was being gathered up by the scorpion.

The blue man and the black haired man fell in alongside the scorpion. I looked at them as bright red sharingan eyes locked with mine. For a moment I knew, I knew he recognized me before all four of them disappeared in a flourish of leaves.

Then I was dropped to the ground landing roughly on my butt.

'HEY!' I snapped looking around to see Jiraiya looking at me with something akin to annoyance. I lifted my mask to glare at him dissipating my eye technique as he leant down to my level.

'That was reckless and stupid. You could've killed innocent bystanders!' he roared as I got to my feet glaring at him.

'It saved you a great deal of casualties and destruction!' I roared back. I had to find Kakashi as I turned to stomp away as Jiraiya's massive hand grabbed my shoulder making me cringe from the pain of the seared flesh underneath. I turned to glare at him as our eyes met, glared at each other in the face as I heard footsteps behind me.

'You are just as pig headed as your family Uchiha. Don't play the hero. You'll only get yourself and others killed' it was Hiashi's voice as I turned to glare at him in stead of Jiraiya. I did not need this now I had to make sure Kakashi was alright!

'I saved this town from further destruction and from your village loosing more ninjas!' I yelled as more people gathered closer. Hiashi stepped closer. My glare became downright glacier as I noticed he took a step back.

'We don't need your help in protecting our own Assassin' Hiashi sneered as I felt my blood boil. That asshole, I was going to rip him a new one when I felt a strong arm wrap around my waist.

'Hyuuga-san I think thanks are in order not reprimanding Yukiko-san for risking herself to help our village' Kakashi's smooth voice made me feel instantly better plus the fact that he was beside me. He was alright! I could've kissed the life out of him right there as I looked at the tall jounin as Hiashi's face turned and interesting shade of purple.

'You will never amount to anything assassin. Your destiny prevents you from going forward and you'll always be trapped wandering in your past.' He snapped before he stormed away. I glared at his retreating back as Kakashi sighed beside me.

'He really doesn't like you' Kakashi said as I nodded and pulled my mask back over my face.

'Nope, I'm a black mark on his flawless record it seems.' I stated as Kakashi gave me a sympathetic look. It was so minute that not many people would notice the change in his expression unless you knew Kakashi's expressions.

'What you did was quite reckless though. You could've been killed or captured.' Kakashi muttered low enough so only I could hear as Jiraiya was talking with Naruto. I shifted my weight as I noticed how charred my clothes were.

'I know but we have to take risks Kakashi-kun are you alright though?' I whispered as he gave my shoulder a squeeze.

'I'll be alright' he muttered as Shikamaru made his way over to what I suspected he thought might've been the beginning of a fight.

'The Akatsuki were definitely after something but they attacked the furthest place from any of the places that hold significant documentation of anything that would locate the forbidden jutsu scroll's whereabouts' Shikamaru stated as a large group of ninjas came over to stand by us. They were obviously interested in discussing the seemingly random attack on the village and the unnecessary murder of their comrades.

'Then what were they looking for?' Naruto asked helping a limping Sakura and Hinata to a log as Shikamaru shrugged. A smile came to my face as I noticed how nice he was being to my sister after our little discussion with Iruka.

'Who knows, nice explosion by the way.' Kankuro nodded to me as he applied pressure to a shoulder wound cursing the entire time. I shook my head as Ino attended to Kankuro's wound with a great deal of loud protesting from the sand shinobi.

'Why would Itachi of all people come back to Konoha if he wanted to stay away from Sasuke-kun? Surely coming here would be a major risk especially if they didn't get what they came for right?' Sakura asked as Shikamaru and Kakashi nodded. I looked at Kakashi as I noticed he seemed to be concentrating on something. That's when I noticed the red that was slowly seeping through Kakashi's flak vest. I looked at the silver haired man as he ignored my concern and continued his thoughts.

'What family compound are we the closest to?' Kakashi asked as I raised an eyebrow. Shikamaru looked behind them at the others as Sasuke walked over to the group as he cleaned off his blade of the long red streaks that covered it.

'We're closest to the Uchiha compound' Sasuke muttered as everyone looked at Kakashi. He looked relaxed and bored but I could tell something was up, he was tense as he stepped away from the group and seemingly walked away. I scrambled to catch up as the others exchanged confused looks and followed along.

'Hey Kakashi-kun!' I called as he continued along. I caught up and had to jog to keep up with his long strides. 'Kakashi-kun what the hell is going on, where are you going?' I asked as he glanced at me.

'We'll talk when we get to the hokage's office' he stated simply as he took out his novel and started reading. I ran and grabbed his arm tugging him to a halt.

'You're hurt were going to the hospital!' I stated poking his fluffy vest where the blood was seeping through. He grabbed my arm where a burn had blistered my skin as I cringed.

'You are hurt as well, I should take you to the hospital but reporting this information to the Hokage-sama is more important at the moment. Besides its nothing more than a flesh wound. I'll live' he stated as I turned on my arctic glare. He started walking again as I jogged to catch up. My burns were irritatingly painful as my charred clothing rubbed against them as I jogged.

'Hey, Kakashi-kun can you slow down a bit?' I asked as he looked at me and kept the same place. 'Asshole' I muttered keeping pace with him as he glanced back.

'Just because someone doesn't bend to your wants doesn't make them an asshole' Kakashi muttered as I stopped walking. What did he just say? He kept walking as I just watched him walk away.

'WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?!' I roared as Kakashi looked back at me. He seemed unfazed as he turned finally realizing what he had said as he put his book down.

'Are you going to keep whining or are we going to go discuss the previous events with Hokage-sama?' he said as my mouth dropped open. He didn't say anything as I looked at him. Did he hit his head or something? What was going on?

Kakashi walked back toward me as he stood in his usual slouch. He seemed distant and rather angry almost as he grabbed my arm. I hissed as the ache of raw skin ran up my arm. He loosened his grip as he started tugging me along behind him. No way was I going to be dragged anywhere! I attempted to tear my arm out of his grasp as he held firm. The pain from his hand was getting unbearable as I glared at him.

'Let. Go.' I stated as his eyes met mine.

'Stop being childish and lets go.' He looked irritated as he let my arm go, sighed and rubbed his forehead. 'Maybe Hiashi was right and you should be reprimanded for your actions if you're going to be stubborn and not take your team leader's orders into account.' He stated more to himself as he donned his normal bored slouch.

'What is wrong with you?!' I snapped as Kakashi put his hands on my shoulders. I felt like a child as my glare became sub-zero. Kakashi dropped his hands as he sighed.

'Go home, I'll talk to you later' he said and turned continuing to the Hokage's office. I was pretty sure my mouth hit the ground. Did he just dismiss me?! What the hell?! Was I just a convenience for him? A I'm-sad-so-I'll-come-and-cry-on-your-shoulder commodity? I stared at his retreating form as rushed footsteps came up behind me.

'Onee-san!' Hinata's timid voice called as she, Temari, Sakura and Ino jogged up to where I was rooted still staring in the direction Kakashi had gone. 'Onee-san?' Hinata asked as someone shook my shoulder. The pain from my burns seemed to bring me out of my stupor.

'I'M GONNA KILL HIM!' I snapped as everyone took a step back from me.

'Who are you going to kill Yuki-sensei?' Temari asked as I rolled up my charred sleeves.

'I'm going to break every bone in that mans body then string him up by his eyelids and kick him in the crotch until he blinks! How dare he mock me!' I seethed punching my fist into my hand as Temari giggled.

'She always did have interesting plans to seek revenge' she muttered as the other girls paled at the determination and ferocity in my voice. Sakura and Hinata exchanged looks as I noticed the sun was setting casting long shadows over us. My stomach growled in the silence as we all started to laugh.

'Come on, let's go back to the house. You can tell us about why Kakashi-sensei made you so angry Yuki-chan' Sakura smiled as I nodded. I didn't understand it myself, how did Kakashi go from being loving and caring to removed and angry so quickly? That man had a bipolar issue or something I swear to god.

'So Hinata do you have a date with Naruto-kun tonight?' Sakura teased as Hinata's face bloomed bright red at the mention of the young man.

'Yes. We're going to dinner and he's taking me to see the lights festival that starts tonight' Hinata whispered as a smile crossed my face. She seemed so warm and loving of a person. She was someone who really just wanted everyone around her to be happy and live as they saw fit. I put an arm over her shoulders as she looked surprised before she smiled.

'How could you stand him sis?' I laughed using the English term for sister.

'What did you call her?' Sakura and Temari asked at once. I blinked then remembered that sis probably meant something completely different here.

'Oh! Sis stands for sister either older or younger because you all have different terms for older and younger so Sister or Sis for short is easier.' I explained as they nodded. Hinata seemed pleased with my nickname for her. Even is she was my half sister at least she was one of the few from my fathers side that accepted me especially seeing that I looked almost like Hinata's doppelganger except my hair had long waves that ended in curls and I had ice blue eyes with no pupils instead of pin straight hair and lavender eyes with no pupils. From a distance we probably looked exactly the same except that I was a little bigger than Hinata but not by a noticeable amount.

'Well I think Kakashi-san will explain himself. I know you scared the crap out of Sasuke-yaro when you caused that massive explosion and fell from the sky like a flaming rag doll.' Temari stated as Sakura and Ino gave their friend a look.

'Sasuke is not a bastard you sand witch!' Sakura fumed as I laughed. Sakura looked at me as Hinata giggled.

'You called Temari-chan a sandwich!' Hinata giggled as I coughed to hide my amusement.

'Oh haha a pun, how cute' Sakura looked hurt as I shook my head.

'All in good fun Sakura-chan' I apologized as the teen brightened. We were almost home at this point as I noticed the lights were on and shadows were moving around inside. It looked like Sasuke and Naruto were home and hopefully making supper as Hinata and Ino waved goodbye to us before we went inside.

The smell of dumplings greeted us as I saw spiky black hair bobbing around in the kitchen by the stove as oil hissed in a pan. My stomach grumbled as I realized I hadn't eaten lunch yet because I had woken up so late for the fight this morning.

'That smells AMAZING Sasuke-kun!' Sakura praised as I rolled my eyes and flopped onto the couch. Naruto was doing laundry as he came out and started checking on my wounds.

'Hey Sakura-chan you should look at these they look rather serious and you didn't get your head wound looked at yet!' Naruto cried as Sakura came over to where I was sitting immediately.

'Strip' she demanded as everyone went silent.

'Pardon?' I asked as she rolled her eyes.

'Naruto go finish your laundry as for Sasuke-kun he's your brother and Temari-chan is your former student. Beside I'm not making you take off all of your clothes just pants and Yukata and maybe your mesh shirt too.' Sakura stated as I sighed and removed the charred Yukata, my ripped pants, and the mesh shirt that I could always buy another one of in town. I sat in my blue panties with white polar bears on them and my black amazingly unscathed mask-tank. But as Sakura inspected a large burn covered most of my back and the plastic from the spandex had melted onto the wounds. No wonder it hurt when I moved.

'This is really going to hurt' Sakura said as I nodded. I had cut the lower part of the tank-top where the burn was to leave me with my mask and a very short shirt that came to rest just under my cleavage. Great just what I needed, a perfect excuse for perverts to try to see my clothing because it was revealing.

'Sasuke-kun can you come here and hold her with Temari-chan?' Sakura asked as the young man came and gently but firmly held onto my shoulder. Sakura looked at me as I nodded, I was prepared for the pain. 'One, Two, Three!' On three she pulled. It was agonizing as I felt the charred fabric and skin rip free of my back.

'HOLY DEAR GOD!' I shrieked as Sasuke put his hand over my mouth to keep me from screaming out. The fabric was gone as the burn started to weep I could feel as Sakura went to work healing all of my burns.

Sasuke left to attend our food as Sakura labored on my wounds. It hurt like no tomorrow as new skin grew rapidly to replace the burnt skin. Sakura hadn't given me an anesthetic to dull the pain either as my skin felt like it was on fire once again from the chakra induced healing. My thoughts faded to Kakashi as I wondered why he had gotten so upset about me taking out that blonde guy. I knew I had been reckless but at least I had taken one of them down and made the opponents call off the battle. I had saved many more people then cause in damage. Sakura's tired voice pulled me back to the task at hand.

'Now for that head wound Jiraiya-san left on you' Sakura looked tired as this time she did give me an anesthetic of some powder in liquid as my head grew muddled and my senses dulled. It felt like I was swimming but I couldn't connect what was going on within my head. It was frightening and disorienting as Temari and Sasuke both sat on the couch with me as I stared into space.

'Finished. The anesthetic should wear off in a few minutes give me some of those bandages and I'll wrap that one burn on her arm that was really bad.' Sakura's voice came in waves as I felt my brain starting to come back to its normal functioning force.

'Owwwwwwwwwww' I moaned as my blue and white hoodie and Black pants were set in front of me. I changed and put my headband around my neck as Sasuke brought the dumplings in for everyone.

'Don't make a mess Baka' he said as Naruto's head popped around the corner of the laundry room.

'Hey I'm washing your dirty underwear so shut up about making a mess!' Naruto snapped as Sasuke gave the blonde a glare rivaling my glacier glare before he set the dumplings on the table.

'Thanks Nii-chan' I smiled as Sasuke seemed to thaw a bit and sat on the couch beside me and turned on the TV. A mindless re-run of some cop show came on as we sat and ate Sasuke's delicious duck dumplings. The evening passed rather quietly as the clock struck 6:30 I heard a loud thud and the sound of scurrying around. I turned to look at the staircase to notice that Naruto looked frantic. I got up and crossed the room putting a hand on the frantic teens shoulder.

'What are you looking for hun?' I asked as Naruto looked at me. He blushed a little as he grabbed a little frog wallet from his pocket.

'I lost the present I was going to give Hinata-chan, It's a hair clip made of pressed violets have you seen it?' he asked as Sasuke sighed and got off the couch producing said hair clips.

'I thought they were Sakura's here' he said dropping the little clips into the blonde's hands. Naruto looked so relieved as he slipped on his shoes.

'Wait!' I called and rummaged for my coat in the closet. I produce a bunch of money and put it into the boy's hands. Naruto shook his head and tried to give it back.

'No I can't take it Yuki-chan' he stated as I curled his fingers over the money and placed my hands over his.

'Take my sister to a nice restaurant Naruto-chan. Not Ichiraku but somewhere that you think would make her feel special' I said as he gave me an award winning grin.

'You can count on me believe it!' I stated as I gave him a hug and kissed his forehead.

'Good luck!' I waved as he disappeared out the door. I waited a few moments as Sasuke came to stand beside me. We were both looking at the closed door as he looked at me.

'You going to follow him?' he asked.

'Yep' I stated as I heard him sigh.

'And I'm guessing nothing will stop you?' he stated putting his hands in his pockets.

'nope' I smiled as he sighed.

'I'll get our coats' he said as I turned to look at him, we? 'I'm not letting you go running after Naruto-baka and Hinata-chan after you've just had third degree burns healed all by yourself. You're more stubborn than Naruto in that sense it seems' the dark haired teen shrugged on a dark blue coat with a high collar as he gave me Yuuto's white jacket before we headed after Naruto.

-sob- I just watched Kakashi's last episode –bawls- NOOOOOOOO!!!! Anyway continue to review!


	10. stalking and an apology

It was cool but not freezing as Sasuke and I stayed close to the shadows. It was easy to walk around inconspicuously in Konoha as we stopped outside of a massive set of homes all inside of one gate.

'This is the Hyuuga compound. Hinata-chan's house is the large blue one over there with the black dragon tile roof' he pointed out the largest of all of the homes where I could see Naruto talking with who I assumed was Hinata's mother before Hinata herself appeared. Sasuke elbowed me as we hid in the bushes by the gate masking our chakra and watching through the slats in the fence posts.

Hinata looked stunning in a light blue Yukata and a pale yellow Obi with her hair left out and black pants with heeled sandals as Naruto didn't look half bad himself with an orange dress shirt and black jeans it seemed.

They left Hinata's as they reached the gate Naruto produced the hair pins. A smile split across Hinata's face as she looped up her hair and put in the clips. They went really well with her hair as she slipped her hand into Naruto's. They walked away as I motioned to Sasuke for us to follow them from the rooftops. My brother nodded in agreement as we jumped onto the apartment building roof beside us.

They headed into town as I noticed that we were heading toward the nice touristy area of town. Also the expensive part of town happened to be there.

'What restaurant did he say he was taking Hinata to?' Sasuke asked as I shrugged.

'I told him to take Hinata-chan somewhere that she would enjoy not Ichiraku' I said as Sasuke gave a chuckle.

'Good thing you told the moron. But I think he might be going to Izakaya, they have really good rock country styled food. It's quite unique' Sasuke muttered as we crouched behind a heating unit on the roof of a building across from the stylish restaurant. They were seated near the back in a booth beside a grouping of potted tropical plants.

They seemed to be having a good time, Hinata laughing at something that Naruto said. I wanted to hear what they were saying so badly! I looked at Sasuke as he raised an eyebrow. I pointed down at the potted plants. He knew what I was thinking as he shook his head. I gave him a pointed look as he glared. I sighed and crouched in the snow on the roof. This totally sucked. Why did I ever want to do this? Sasuke seemed to be watching the duo intently as I sighed.

'I am going inside.' I stated as Sasuke gave me a withering look.

'And how are you going to do that?' he equipped as a smile came to my face.

'A disguise!' I exclaimed as Sasuke gave me a disbelieving look. I focused my chakra and made six hand signs and was enveloped in a cloud of smoke. 'Snow model clone jutsu, Ta da!' I exclaimed as I now stood at 6 foot 2 inches with frosty blue white hair and dark brown eyes. I was wearing basic evening formal wear for a man as Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

'And who are you supposed to be?' he asked as I felt my voice pitch change.

'I'm Yuuto from the ice village and _you_ are going to be my date after I teach you the hand signs.' I stated as Sasuke gave me a strange look.

'You want me to become a woman?' he asked as I gave a nod. He gave me a not-on-your-life look as I looked down at my brother. Heh, being taller was an awesome feeling. IM ALL POWERFUL MUAHAHAHA!!! Sasuke was still glaring at me as I took a different route.

'Please? It's the perfect disguise and even Naruto wouldn't question it' I pleaded as Sasuke sighed and gave me a rather annoyed look.

'Fine. Show me the hand signs.' He stated as I showed him it was Ox, tiger, dragon, horse, dog, and the ram. He completed the chakra as in a flourish of leaves I was looking at a small red headed girl in a blue Chinese dress with black pants. Her hair was tied back in twin braids with white ribbons.

'Alright are you happy now?' Sasuke's voice was squeaky as I laughed and looped my arm over his narrow shoulders.

'Let's go!' I said as we landed on street level. No one noticed us as we stepped into the restaurant like any other couple. Sasuke appeared stoic as the waitress came over to us.

'Hello, a table for two?' she asked batting her eyelashes at me. Sasuke frowned as I looked at the petite red head.

'Yes a booth near the back would be lovely.' I said softly as Sasuke perked up.

'I want to be able to see the koi pond' his little voice perked up shyly as I smiled warmly at him and turned back to the waitress. Sasuke was good at acting!

'In view of the koi pond if possible miss' I said with Yuuto's trademark shy smile. I thought the waitress was going to faint; point for me! As she led us to the perfect table. A booth with Naruto and Hinata in hearing and seeing distance with an excellent view of the koi pond was exactly where she had seated us.

'Our special tonight is spaghetti with Bolognese sauce and meat balls with garlic toast and seaweed salad.' She said as I ordered coffee for both of us. I had a clear view to Naruto as he was avidly chatting about one of his adventures with Jiraiya in the mountains. Hinata seemed to be enjoying herself as the waitress returned with a bread basket for us. I thanked her as Sasuke looked like he was going to stab the woman with his fork.

'Sasuke calm down' I hissed under my breath as the little redhead glared at me.

'Do you see the way she's looking at you? Who is the guy you picked anyway?' he snipped as a sad smile came to my face. Sasuke ought to know that this was Yuuto's face that I was hiding behind as I decided to play his own game.

'So who is that girl you picked anyway?' I stated back keeping our voices low as I continued to keep an ear on Naruto's conversation. Currently he was asking if Hinata had taken the jounin exams yet or if she had any other plans for her future. I turned back to my own table as Sasuke took a nibble of one of the breadsticks.

'She was a warrior from sound I met before I left. She was always kind to me no matter how many times I sent her away or ignored her. She was killed when I left sound' he said as I nodded. Naruto's food had arrived and the evening was going well so far he hadn't screwed up! YES! And Hinata hadn't fainted SWEET! 'What about yours?' Sasuke asked as I looked at him.

'Yuuto-chan was my fiancé. He was murdered before I left Rin. That's one of the reasons I left. I couldn't stand seeing all of his stuff that he left in our apartment' I muttered as Sasuke's hand touched mine from across the table. I smiled as to anyone looking in on the scene would've thought it a tender moment between lovers. Not a bond beginning to form between to siblings who thought they were alone in the world.

'Naruto-kun why did you take me out?' Hinata's shy voice made both of us look over at their table. That was a loaded question as Sasuke cursed and I put my hand on his. I hoped Naruto wouldn't screw this up. Sasuke gave me a look asking if I was going closer to make sure I could fix this if need be. I got up and walked over to inspect the koi pond bringing me within inches of their table. I turned on my eye technique as I watched Hinata and Sasuke behind me.

'Well, you see when I came back from training I never thought everyone would change so much.' He said quietly as I waited, so far so good. 'And when I met you again you were so much… stronger Hinata-chan. You hadn't given up on being a kunoichi and you even made Jounin level after Neji and Shikamaru. You're so amazing and after Iruka-sensei told me you've had a huge crush on me since when we were in the academy. I guess I finally admitted to how much I really liked you' He smiled brightly. I breathed a sigh of relief, released my chakra flow, and walked back to the table where Sasuke raised an eyebrow as I took my seat. Not exactly the best way of going about explaining something saying your teacher had to explain it to you but this was Naruto we were talking about.

'Oh, Naruto' she smiled and giggled as she leant over and kissed the blonde.

'Ew' Stated Sasuke as our coffee arrived.

'I think it's cute' I smiled as the waitress sauntered off. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

'You don't know the idiot like I do. That was disgusting' he said taking a long sip of his coffee. I shook my head and ignored Sasuke as I noticed Temari and Shikamaru walk into the restaurant. SHIT! We needed to get out Temari would know Yuuto if she saw him and would know something was up.

'We have company, we need to go' I muttered as Sasuke immediately noticed what I was talking about. He nodded as we looked at each other. 'Act with me here' I hissed as I laughed.

'Ah Akane you are too funny!' I said as Sasuke sighed and gave me a flirty look. The others didn't notice us thankfully.

'Oh seriously it was only a joke Kyo' he giggled as I finished my coffee. Sasuke finished his as the waitress returned. I noticed Temari and Shikamaru stop to chat with Naruto and Hinata, perfect chance to escape. I paid the waitress as we left. Sasuke on my arm with his head on my shoulder as I walked past Naruto's table I dropped a piece of paper into Naruto's lap. I hope he'd get the note to get Hinata honey dew melon flavored snow cone and that if he had any problems to look for Sakura or Temari or myself at the festival of lights.

'Shall we head over toward the festival of lights?' Sasuke asked as I gave a nod. His arm was still looped with mine as we walked. People were walking about laughing as I saw Konohamaru and his team run past with snow cones in vibrant colours in their hands. A smile came to my face as I loved how clean and pure everything looked in the snow. The lights around the window displays and on the buildings were a light. Plastic lanterns shone in cheery colours strung over the street as a flash of silver caught my eye.

I looked to my left to see a certain jounin disappear into one of the local bars. My curiosity piqued as I looked at Sasuke. He shook his head and pulled my arm in the opposite direction.

'C'mon Akane.' I whined as Sasuke gave me a look before sighing.

'I'll go keep a look out for Naruto while you go sort out this tiff between you and Kakashi-sensei' he stated as I raised my eyebrow.

'How did you-?'I began as he interrupted.

'Sakura-chan' Sasuke said before walking toward the park where the light display was being held. I shook my head and laughed. Couldn't keep anything a secret in this town it seemed as I ducked into the bar.

It turned out that this was the Senbon that Genma had been talking about as I saw Kakashi sitting at the bar. No other recognizable shinobi were at the bar. I spotted Genma at a table with a bunch of women and I thought I saw Tsunade near the back with her aide as I gave up and took a seat at the bar beside Kakashi. The jounin didn't look up as he downed a small cup of what looked like Sake.

'What will you have?' the bar tender asked as he wandered over. He was quite good looking as I sighed and looked at the bottles on the shelf.

'Amaretto on the rocks' I said as the young man nodded. I gave him the money as I swirled the amber liquor around its ice cubes in the tumbler.

'How do you drink that stuff?' Kakashi's voice was slightly slurred as I reveled in the freedom of not wearing a mask as I took a sip of the liquor.

'Not hard. Wait for the ice to melt a bit it tastes better.' I stated as Kakashi gave a nod. I looked at the sake.

'The better question is how do you drink that stuff? It has no flavour' I laughed as Kakashi shrugged. I look another sip as I saw a pair of girls wave flirtingly to Kakashi and I. 'Hey, I think she has her eye on you' I nudged Kakashi and jerked my head toward where the two girls were now giggling and trying their best to look sexy. Rather pathetically in my opinion as Kakashi gave a chuckle and downed another cup of sake.

'I'm not out to get girls.' He muttered as leant closer to him and raised my eyebrow.

'Then are you out to get guys?' I asked as the jounin gave me a bored look before he laughed.

'No, no. I'm not gay.' He sighed and downed another cup. Was he trying to get himself drunk? Maybe Kakashi had a drinking problem? No, that didn't sound like something he would have.

'Then why are you here?' I asked winking at a girl from across the bar. She blushed and looked down at her table as Kakashi looked at the wooden bar top. I was still rather annoyed at what he said to me but maybe I could trick why he said the things he said to me out of him.

'I fucked up really bad with an amazing girl' he sighed as I felt the anger I held towards him flush away. Dammit, why couldn't I hold grudges! I continued to play the semi-interested stranger.

'Wow, she must be special if you're beating yourself up this much. What's her name?' I asked leaning on the bar and taking another sip of my drink. It was almost half gone as Kakashi traced one of the many worn water rings in the bar's surface.

'Yukiko is her name and I said some rather stupid things that I really didn't mean. Well it's my own stupidity anyway. She's better off probably-' Kakashi took another dousing of Sake as I shook my head.

'Man are you seriously going to give up a girl that good just because of some stupid argument?' I was glad that Yuuto's voice could be commanding at times as Kakashi looked at me.

'I highly doubt she would want to talk with anyone after what I said' Kakashi sighed as I shook my head and punched his shoulder. Being a guy was so much fun, you could punch people and they didn't think it was weird! I should use this cover more often. Kakashi raised his eyebrow at me as I grinned.

'Seriously though man, if you like her that much that you're killing yourself over what you said find her and apologize! She probably won't be mad very long especially if you bring her a peace offering of some kind.' I said as Kakashi looked at me with something akin to amusement on his face. I downed my glass of amaretto as he put his face in his hands before downing the last of his sake and stood. He clapped me on the shoulder.

'Thanks. Have a fun evening at the festival.' He said as he left the bar. I laughed as one of the girls I had winked at came over and sat where Kakashi had just vacated. She crossed her legs and smiled seductively at me as she traced little circles on the table.

'So are you going to buy me a drink big boy?' she asked as I looked at her.

'Nope' I stated as her mouth dropped open.

'And why not?!' she demanded as I looked her over.

'Because you're a whore, your clothes are too small, and I'm gay and I have to meet the guy that just left at his place in ten minutes actually' I stood and gave her a smile as I left the bar. I could feel the girl's open mouthed stare on my back as I let the door slam behind me. I laughed when I got outside as some people gave me a weird glance. I put my hands in my pocket and sauntered into the park. Various couples were waling around as I spotted Naruto and Hinata. They were looking at a swan ice sculpture as I looked for Sasuke. I found the red head leaning against a snow cone stand looking utterly bored as I walked over and put my arm around his shoulders.

'Where have you been?' he questioned as I shrugged and he gave me a glare.

'All you need to know is that we have to change because someone is looking to find me' I said as Sasuke got the message. We headed toward a secluded part of the park as we jumped into the bushes. We waited as I felt that no one else was around as we looked at one another and nodded.

'Release!' we both chorused as with a furry of leaves and in my case snow we transformed back to our normal selves. The world seemed a great deal bigger from my normal body as I looked up at Sasuke. Darn. Back to being short once again.

'Kakashi-kun is looking for me and I know Sakura-chan wants to spend this evening with you.' I said as Sasuke gave me a cold look before stalking off out of the bushes. Why did I get the iceberg for a brother? I sighed and stepped out of the bushes and onto the more than well lit walkway.

There were lights everywhere. The small bulbs were wound around trees and buildings in the park. Small coloured lights were arranged to look like little cartoon shinobi and kimono wearing girls, presents, and various other cute animals and Christmas related scenes. It was quite warming this town. Everyone was so happy and even when impending danger was constantly around the corner people carried on as if nothing was wrong. It really was amazing for these people to keep going even when they knew tomorrow could be their last.

That's when Hinata and Naruto caught my eye. I looked around before jumping into a shrubbery on my right. They were by the snow-cone stand as Naruto bought Hinata a honeydew melon flavoured snow cone. YES GO Naruto!!!!!! I cheered silently as Hinata blushed and accepted the frosty treat. This date was going extremely well, I was incredibly happy I actually did a little dance behind the shrubbery.

The couple moved on as I saw Sakura and Sasuke. Sakura looked ecstatic as Sasuke looked a little calmer and even a little warmer than he usually did. A smile came to my face as I resisted the urge to run over and hug my baby brother.

'May I ask why such a beautiful woman is hiding in the bushes spying on her brother and sister?' I jumped as Kakashi's smooth voice made me whip around to see the tall silver haired man staring at me with his hands in his pockets. Oh that was right I was supposed to be mad at him. I glared my best glare and stalked out of the bushes right in front of Hinata and Naruto. Both teens blinked as I stormed past and I knew Kakashi was following along behind as I thought of something that would embarrass him completely as I stalked toward Sasuke.

My brother shot one eyebrow up as I gave a quick grin. He knew what was up as I stormed past. I made the necessary hand signals as I felt the pulse of a magnetic field. This would teach the ass and make him look like an idiot.

'Yuki-chan, I wouldn't do that' Kakashi's voice was in front of me as I looked up. I gave him a glare as he put his own hands on mine and moved them to his sides. I noticed we were no where near the path or any of the festival of lights. Actually we were just off the path behind a great deal of shrubbery and trees blocking anyone from viewing us. Great, just the perfect spot I wanted to be caught with Kakashi, not.

'And why not?' I snapped as Kakashi sighed and looked at the sky.

'Listen, I had some sense spoken into me earlier this evening and I guess I owe you an explanation of why I said those things earlier.' He said quietly as I continued my glare.

'You think? Do you have any idea how you insulted me? Geeze I haven't been this angry in ages.' I snapped as Kakashi looked at me then took to leaning against a tree. I waited as I noticed my foot was tapping from my irritation.

'I ran into this guy this evening and he said that I should probably get you a peace offering. Would you like that or the explanation first?' Kakashi asked as my eyes narrowed. Trying to make me less angry by giving me a token how original, he was following my instructions to the T. sheesh, did this guy have no originality with girls?

'Explain yourself otherwise I'll use that jutsu I was beginning earlier and you will have a new reason for having your static like hair.' I threatened as he chuckled.

'Alright. We'll Yukiko-chan when you deliberately did not follow my instructions even thought you knew the stakes we were dealing with. That type of blatant disregard for instruction could get you thrown out of Konoha. But that really wasn't why I was so mad.' He sighed and looked away. I waited, I knew he was upset but he didn't tell Yuuto A.k.a: me what was truly bothering him.

I waited as he sighed; I actually noticed he was starting to look a little flustered as I calmed my temper. If he was going to try to talk being angry was not the way to coax it out of him. Especially when he was a person who rarely opened up to people and I was probably the first person other than Iruka that he really trusted. I walked over and touched his arm gently. He seemed to calm down a little bit as I put my hands on his forearms. I hadn't known but he was shaking a little bit.

'Why wasn't that the reason you were so mad?' I asked quietly. I was trying to create a scenario like one of his books; maybe he would be able to react more comfortably in. It was a long shot but hey, I was a kunoichi and improvisation was a mandatory skill. Kakashi looked down at me as I looked up at his dark brown eye. His eyes were so dark it was like a vat of chocolate, you could fall in and never come up for air (like you would want to if you were in chocolate).

'When you allowed Diedara to catch you I couldn't believe how stupid you were being. You weren't thinking of everyone else and what was worse was you put yourself in the worst place for harm. I thought Diedara was going to kidnap you or something. Then that explosion it was like I couldn't move fast enough as you fell. I thought you were dead from the way Jiraiya-san caught you. You have no idea how angry I was at the Akatsuki and when I saw you yelling your head off at Jiraiya-san, you have no idea how relieved I was that you were alright' he gave me a sad eye smile as I dove into his arms hugging the crap out of him. Kakashi had a way with words and however he had managed it I had completely forgiven him for being a jerk because he was so angry with himself for not being close enough to help me when my plan missed a critical step and could've gotten me killed.

I felt him chuckle as he returned the hug and gently kissed my forehead. 'Does this mean I'm forgiven for my assholitude' Kakashi muttered as I nodded against his chest. It drew another chuckle out of him as he ran a hand through my hair. It was really soothing as I felt chakra signatures approach us.

'Yuki and Kakashi sitting in a tree F-U-C-K-I- OW SASUKE WHAT THE HELL?! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?' Naruto's obnoxious voice called as I glanced behind me to see Naruto rubbing a growing bump on his head as Sasuke gave the boy an annoyed look before sheathing his sword again. Sakura glared as Naruto as Hinata blushed and stammered over the blonde boy who looked like he was going to tear Sasuke to shreds.

'That was a rather inappropriate song Naruto-kun I think the original was K-I-S-S-I-N-G correct?' Kakashi said as I turned to look at the teens with Kakashi's arms still resting around my waist. Naruto gave his teacher a grin as I shook my head.

'Thanks Nii-chan' I called as Sasuke shrugged. Hinata gave me a brilliant smile as Sakura gave me a wink as I heard Kakashi give a chuckle behind me. I felt him rest his chin in the top of my head as distant screaming reached my ears. I sighed.

'What now?' Sakura growled as we all took off at top speed toward the main section of the festival. People pushed and shoved trying to get away from what looked like a moving snow pile that was behind a section of lights that were now destroyed. Kakashi stood beside me as I ducked a fleeing elbow.

'What is that?' Naruto asked as I approached it cautiously. Kakashi shadowed me as I approached the large creature or whatever it was. I ignored the screaming as two enormous grey-green luminous eyes locked with mine. In that one second it felt like the entire world shifted while I was frozen.

'Nori' the name echoed around my head as all I could see were the two grey-green eyes.

'Yukiko-chan, Yuki, YUKI!' Kakashi was shaking me as his voice sounded panicked. I shook my head as I remembered the name. Nori. I put my hand on Kakashi's shoulder as I realized at some point I had fallen onto the ground as he pulled me up to rest against his shoulder as my head felt thick and heavy. The snow mound which happened to be an enormous snow leopard padded over to our small group as she sat down about six feet from us and went into a bow where she crossed her front paws and bowed her head in the traditional formal snow leopard greeting.

'Greetings shinobi I am Nori from the high mountains near the shinobi village of Rin. I have been searching for you Yukiko, daughter of the snow for the last three years since you left Rin. Now that I have found you I must train to become your animal familiar.' The great cat bowed again as everyone around me exchanged weird looks. A smile came to my face as I slowly got to my feet. Kakashi stood with me as he kept a gentle but firm grip on my upper arm. He probably expected that I was going to faint or fall over.

'Well Nori-chan I would like you to meet my friends. Kakashi-kun, Naruto-chan, Sakura-chan, my brother Sasuke-chan and my sister Hinata-chan.' I pointed them out as they shivered when the great cat's eyes landed on each one of them. I smiled as something finally felt connected within me. Another part seemed to click as I looked at Nori the big beautiful feline.

'It's a pleasure to meet all of you' she said. Her accent was thick it had been so long since I had heard a Rin accent that it was astounding when I found myself reverting to the same accent.

'So Nori-chan, why were you terrorizing people at the festival?' I asked as she shrugged and came to stand beside me.

'I've been tracking your scent and when I showed myself to ask someone if they knew where you had gone they screamed and ran. Very strange if you ask me, have they never seen a familiar before?' the cat scoffed as I looked down at her.

'Not many here have seen leopards Nori-chan, especially as large as your particular clan of leopards' I stated as the cat's shoulder came to chest and she was easily as tall as I was so we could look each other in the eye.

'Damn that is one freaking huge cat!' I heard Kiba exclaim as he, Kankuro, Shino, Temari, Gaara, and Shikamaru came running over. Kiba was perched on a white dog about equal size to Nori as he began barking loudly. Nori ignored the dog and gave a low hiss that made the dog tuck his tail between his legs.

'Don't think about it mutt' Nori hissed as I punched her shoulder. The cat fixed me with her predatory stare as I gave her my icy glare back.

'You wont make any friends by being hostile' I stated as the large cat gave a resigned growl and with a loud pop transformed into a normal house cat size and jumped onto my shoulder where she promptly draped herself across my shoulders and glared at the dog. For some reason it felt like I had known Nori my entire life as the cat yawned and made herself comfortable.

'So another false alarm it seems' Shino said as Shikamaru sighed.

'Man what a drag. Oi, Kakashi-san can you keep that girl under control' he yelled as my eye twitched. Kakashi scratched the back of his neck as he took a step away from me.

'Uh, Shikamaru-kun you better start running' Hinata stuttered as I grabbed a handful of snow and chucked it at the boy with a little extra chakra. It struck the teen in the back of the head and sent him sprawling into a bank of snow. Naruto, Kankuro, Kiba, and Temari burst into laughter as Hinata and Temari helped the teen back to his feet. He brushed the snow out of his hair as even the dog laughed at the boy.

'Don't mess with Yuki-sensei or you get frostbite!' Kankuro laughed and clapped the lazy teen on the back nearly winding him. A smile came to my face as Nori gave a raspy laugh as Kakashi's hand found mine.

'Come on, there's some pretty ladies I know who are missing me.' Kankuro laughed as everyone dispersed back to whatever they were going as I saw Temari give Shikamaru a kiss on the cheek before they disappeared around a shrubbery.

Everyone dispersed for the evening as Kakashi led me along the different well lit paths. Nori seemed too tired to really care as she slept from her perch on my shoulders. Kakashi didn't say much but it didn't matter. Yuuto had been the same way, more with showing you how they felt than explaining it with words that for them didn't seem to quite fit with their feelings. We bought snow cones and it was interesting to find that Kakashi loved cherries and strawberries but detested cantaloupe so much that he actually cringed away from me when I got my snow cone with half cantaloupe flavour. It was quite funny to see him take a step away if I moved my snow-cone toward him.

'The fireworks will start soon' Kakashi muttered as we finished off our treats and I looked at him.

'Fireworks?' I asked as he nodded. Then looked over at the apartment complexes rising beside the park with somewhat of a sad smile. 'What's wrong?' I asked as Kakashi turned me so I saw the one little light that was winking in a bank of empty apartments.

'That's Iruka's apartment. He didn't come down to the festival' Kakashi stated as I felt rather depressed all of a sudden. Poor Iruka, he didn't seem to have anyone here.

'Let's go get him' I said as Kakashi looked at me. He seemed rather surprised as I tugged on his hand and made him follow me all the way to Iruka's apartment. There were so many stairs to climb up as when I got to the top I thought I was going to die. 'No one should put that many stairs ANYWHERE!' I gasped lying on the top step as Kakashi stepped over me and to the door. 'You suck!' I swore attempting to prop myself up as Kakashi rang the doorbell chuckling. There was a scuffle inside as the door was opened a crack. I saw Iruka's surprised face as he saw Kakashi, then me lying on the ground.

'Oh hey, uh what's up?' He asked as I rolled over and stood. Nori was not impressed as she jumped off and took a seat on Kakashi's shoulders. Kakashi looked wary of the cat as I leant against the door frame.

'Too many stairs!' I gasped as both men laughed. Jerks. 'We wanted to know if you would like to come see the fireworks with us and the others' I said as Kakashi gave a nod. Iruka blinked then looked extremely happy.

'Sure.' He disappeared inside for a few seconds before returning with a pair of keys that had a dolphin charm on the set. I giggled as he smiled. 'It was a gift from Naruto last Christmas' he said as a grin crossed my face. Nori gave up on trying to compete with Kakashi's vest collar and made the leap back to my shoulders. Iruka raised an eyebrow as I gave Nori a poke.

'This is Nori-chan, she's my new familiar.' I said as the cat jumped down and transformed. Iruka jumped back as the large feline inclined her head in a greeting.

'Hello Iruka' she said as I looked down the stairs then at Nori as Kakashi looked at his watch.

'The fireworks will be starting in a few minutes' he stated as I cursed and jumped onto Nori. The cat gave me a dark look as I gave her a glare.

'I am not a horse' she said as I gave her a pleading look. She sighed. 'Fine. Come on Kakashi and Iruka' she stated as Kakashi slid on behind me as did Iruka behind him.

'Hold on!' is shouted as Nori took off. Kakashi gripped my waist as I was sure that Iruka was nearly pissing himself as the buildings rushed by. In less than a minute we were in the park and Nori had found where Naruto, Sasuke and the others had congregated.

'Iruka-sensei!' the chorus went up as all of the teens rushed over to see their teacher. Iruka grinned as we climbed off of Nori and the giant cat allowed me to wrap my arm around her shoulders. Sakura and Naruto pulled their former sensei over to a bunch of chairs and blankets that had been set up to watch the fireworks. Iruka was grinning like a fool as his students laughed and handed him hot chocolate and various other items that they had all collected to share while the display was going on.

'That was very kind of you Yuki-chan' Kakashi's soft voice whispered in my ear as his long arms draped around my waist. I placed my hands over his and leant back against his chest. Everything seemed so perfect. Nori gave a loud purr and rubbed her massive cat head against my shoulder. I gave Nori a scratch behind her ears as the first of the fireworks filled the sky with blooms of light. It was beautiful as people oohed and ahhed at the spectacle. Cherry blossoms, dragons, fish, swans, fountains and many other creatures were set alight in the cold night sky.

'Onee-san!' Hinata called as she ran over with a huge grin on her face. I smiled as she promptly showed me Naruto's gift he had given her. I was so happy for the shy girl as I pulled her hair off to the side and did a couple of fast braids before looping them up with the hand made barrettes.

'You look very charming this evening Hinata-chan' Kakashi said as the girl blushed hotly as I gave her a hug before she giggled and gave me a kiss on the cheek before she ran back to where Naruto was and wiggled her way under the blanket he had brought from the house. I shivered as I felt the dampness start to seep under my coat from standing still for too long. Kakashi chuckled as he pulled me closer to him. He was incredibly warm as his breath tickled my neck. 'I didn't think a ninja from the land of ice would get cold' he said as I shook my head.

'It's not the cold, it's the damp. Everything here is always so damp' I said as Kakashi kissed the side of my neck. I felt shivers run up my spine as I giggled and moved out of the way. I heard him laugh as he attempted to kiss my neck again as I wormed my way out of his grasp and behind Nori. The large feline gave me a catty look as Kakashi raised an eyebrow. The fireworks still continued their array as Kakashi made a grab for my arm. I stayed just out of his way as Kakashi seemed rather amused.

'You're ticklish' He laughed as I smiled and nodded. He laughed as suddenly he vaulted over Nori and was kissing my neck and tickling my sides. I laughed and shrieked as he tickled me, I seriously thought I was going to pee myself as I collapsed into the fluffy snow.

'Stop, stop I'm going to pee myself!' I giggled as Kakashi pulled me back to my feet. I heard him actually laugh. It was a deep and warm laugh that made me think about his dark warm eyes and their infinite depths. I smiled as he enveloped me in a warm hug. The others were too busy watching the fireworks or were absorbed in their significant others as I looked over to see Iruka with an enormous grin across his face as I gave the young man a wink. I looked up to see a bright green dragon erupt into thousands of shining little lights as the finale went off and hundreds upon hundreds of colours filled the sky. The entire area was lit up as I saw all of the people of Konoha looking at the sky with grins on their faces as they were all bathed in an ethereal light.

Kakashi moved his hands on my back as in a moment the entire display was over. Cheers and hoots of enjoyment went up all over the park as everyone packed up to head home for the evening. Parents carried small children as school kids dragged themselves rubbing their tired eyes as they joined their parents and guardians to head home for the evening. Parents were laughing as young adults clustered in groups talking about what they were going to do for the rest of the evening.

I stifled a yawn and leant against Kakashi as he ran his hand though my long hair. It was quite soothing as Nori kept me warm by leaning against my side.

'Onee-san!' Hinata called as she and Naruto walked over. Naruto had a huge grin on his face as he ran with Hinata over to where Kakashi and I stood. Sasuke, Iruka and Sakura followed behind as the sand siblings and Shikamaru came over. 'Are we going to head back to the house?' she asked as I covered a yawn and nodded. I didn't know about them but I was done for the evening.

'Sure, let's go!' I said as Nori kept pace with me as Kakashi looped his arm over my shoulders. It was a comfortable walk back to the house. Garra was silent as he walked beside me, he had gotten tall since I had last saw the boy. He seemed like he had been sleeping more which I was grateful for.

'Hey Gaara have you mastered that sand missile technique I attempted to teach you?' I asked as the red head looked at me and a smirk slid onto his face.

'Yes. And I improved it' he said quietly as I smiled.

'You could probably show me a few techniques I could convert to Ice attacks sometime just to unwind if you like.' I said as Gaara looked at me with his usual emotionless eyes. They seemed flinty but behind them I could see the joy that he was concealing.

'But Gaara-kun is the kazekage does he really have the time?' Naruto asked as Temari shrugged.

'I'm sure he could put aside a few moments if she ever came to Suna on a mission or for a vacation' Kankuro stated as I nodded. I would love to spend more time with the sand siblings if I had the chance. We lapsed into silence as it was Nori who actually started talking.

'So why did you pick this one. Personally I like Iruka more' Nori stated as I glared at her.

'I thought your clan was supposed to have more manners than that Nori' I stated as she gave a catty shrug.

'It's not a matter of manners if my opinion counts as something. Besides you picked a pervert. Have you seen under his bed? I'd run' she stated as my mouth dropped open. Kakashi went bright red as everyone turned to look at us.

'Nori, I'm going to make you into a coat' I threatened at the big cat gave me a cheeky grin.

'Ah well, at least your brother wont. Maybe He would be more appropriate a familiar for me. I mean at least he has good tastes although pink hair I must admit seems a little strange.' Nori stated. Man this cat just wanted her ass kicked.

'My hair is naturally pink!' Sakura fumed as I covered a laugh. Nori looked at the fuming girl as she twitched her enormous tail.

'Whatever. Now I brought some things for you from Rin. I brought clothes, some scrolls and various items from your old apartment. They needed the space so I had to summon all of your belongings into your room including what was left of your Fiancé's stuff that neither his family nor the village wanted.' Nori stated as I suddenly felt sick. All of Yuuto and my belongings were now squished into my room. That was a great deal of stuff if she had summoned it already. It might mean that I would have to store it somewhere. Scratch that I would have to store it somewhere. As for Yuuto's things they just brought up painful memories that I really just did not feel like dealing with at the time.

'Are you alright?' Kakashi asked as I nodded. I really didn't trust myself with speaking at the moment as we arrived at the house. Nori blinked.

'This is your house?' she asked as we all looked at her.

'Yes' I stated as the cat looked at me.

'Hm. You probably put the things over at the compound instead of the rental house' Sasuke muttered as Nori gave me an amused look.

'Then why do you live here if there's more than enough room there?' she asked as I shrugged.

'I haven't finished the paperwork and I have never been to the compound.' I stated as Nori gave a raspy laugh.

'It's very clean for no one living there. Not a spec of dust or dirt' Nori stated as Sasuke and I exchanged looks. Maybe someone had been cleaning for them or the town had been looking after the compound until Sasuke turned 18 or I mysteriously appeared. We went inside as Nori took over a massive section of couch. I sat down and used Nori as a backrest as everyone took over various seats. Kakashi sat beside me as the warmth from Nori made me drowsy. I tried to keep my eyes open as everyone chatted and Sakura made tea. It was a very relaxing evening. Gaara didn't say much, nor did I as Kakashi mentioned something about another mission that would be occurring soon.

Nori was purring slightly as Sakura set tea in front of me. It was quite soothing as I jolted awake. I looked around as Kakashi's chin was right above me. I must've fallen asleep because he had already moved me from downstairs as he turned right and entered my bedroom. He didn't seem to notice I was awake as I closed my eyes and evened my breathing again. Kakashi's sent was quite soothing, definitely masculine with the sharp scent of soap and something that reminded me of cedar. Weirdly enough. He set me on my bed gently as I felt him brush a few stray strands of hair from my face. I sighed and rolled over and felt my hand brush the fabric of his pants. I gently grabbed the fabric as I heard one of Kakashi's deep chuckles before the bed sunk and he sat down beside me. I rolled onto my side so that I was almost wrapped around him as I kept my grip on his pant leg. It was amazing how drowsy I got as he rubbed small circles on my back. Without even a distant thought I drifted off to the realm of dreams.

_It was snowing. Big downy flakes were falling as they caught in my hair and on my eyelashes. The world was muted in tones of black and white as I spun around. There was no sound as the entire world sounded muffled. I turned and caught something out of the corner of my eye. Kakashi stood off to one side in his usual slouch and make out paradise open as he read._

'_Yuki-chan!' I turned to see Yuuto grinning at me as I felt my blood run cold and my heart jump a beat. What was going on? I looked back at Kakashi as he pocketed his book as gave me an eye smile._

'_Yo, Yukiko-chan' he smiled as he waved. A smile came across my face as a warmth seemed to rise in my chest. I turned back to see Yuuto looking rather confused as he looked at me. I turned to take a step toward him as Yuuto held up his hand. Now I was the one who was confused. Yuuto gave me one of his shy smiles as he closed the distance between us. The air around me seemed to get colder as I noticed the fact that his shirt was covered in blood and he left a trail of red behind him._

'_Yuuto-kun!' I whispered as he kissed my cheek and rested his forehead against mine._

'_Yuki-chan. You know I love you, I always have and always will but I cannot look after you anymore. You have to let me go. Accept that I'm gone, that I died in the best way possible for me. Protecting you.' He looked at me as his warm brown eyes reminded me of a certain someone. I glanced behind me as Yuuto looked at where Kakashi was standing with a confused look on his face. 'Yuki-chan' Yuuto's voice was sad but proud as he looked at me. 'He loves you and I know that part of you loves him. Don't hold back from him because of me. Let me go, let me rest with the knowledge that I saved you so that you would be happy' he said as he started to fade. I tried to grab his hand. It was so icy cold but I held on as he gave me one of his brilliant smiles. 'Live Yuki-chan. Live for me.' He said as he faded from view._

'_Yuuto' I whispered as the snow came down harder almost whiting out the area. I turned to look at Kakashi. He was right behind me as he gave me one of his sad smiles. I turned as I realized Yuuto was right. I gave Kakashi a brilliant smile as I grabbed him into a hug. He seemed surprised but he returned it as I snuggled into his chest as I noticed his masculine clean scent. _

I cracked open an eye as I noticed the fact that Nori's head kept moving up and down, up and down, at a steady even rate. The next thing I noticed was that my room was just turning gray from sunrise as I noticed my pillow was a dark green not the normal purple I was accustomed to. Kakashi's scent was all I could smell as I realized something. I was sleeping on Kakashi, he had been there the whole night, and I had probably been talking because of that dream. Wow he probably thought I was a freak as I felt something move from my shoulder into my hair as Kakashi drew a deep breath and sighed before turning so that I was resting with my head against his bicep facing his chest. I tried to move m legs to find they were trapped by Kakashi's long legs as I sighed and decided that morning was too overrated and drifted back to sleep.


	11. Release the hounds!

'Onee-chan wake up' Sasuke's voice was quiet as he gently shook my shoulder. I opened my eyes to see that the sun was definitely up and I was still resting on Kakashi's fluffy vest. I gently rolled off the side of the bed and stood up as I replaced where my body had been with two fluffy pillows that Sasuke handed me. Had Sasuke already planned this? I followed him into the hall as he slid the door closed and looked up at me.

'A message came for you from Rin the hokage has it.' Sasuke had a slight smirk on his face as I mimicked him.

'What are you smiling about?' I asked as he looked away, completely cool.

'The hokage is frustrated because she can't read the language it's written in and no one can decipher the codes or symbols that are used.' Sasuke seemed to find this utterly amusing as I shook my head and noticed I was still dressed in what I had crashed in the night before.

'Is Sakura in her room?' I asked as Sasuke nodded and walked off down the hall. I knocked on Sakura's frame before I stuck my head in. She was reading on her bright pink bed as she looked up with a grin on her face,

'Hey Yuki-chan can I help you?' she asked as I came in and closed the door behind me.

'Do you have any clothes I can borrow Kakashi-kun is asleep in my room and I'd hate to wake him up.' I said as a big grin spread across Sakura's face as she seemingly bounced off her bed.

'Nothing of mine will fit you but because I was folding the laundry you washed last night I have some clothes that will fit you.' She said pulling out a pair of my under garments, ordinary black pants that I think were Naruto's judging by the re-repaired cuffs and Sasuke's black shirt with a ridiculously high big-ass neckband. I was definitely looking like I walked out of a bad comic as I fixed the hugely baggy shirt with a long blue sash that Sakura had lying around.

'Alright now I'm off!' I announced as Sakura laughed as I headed downstairs. I had toast as Sasuke and Naruto gave me hell for my outfit. Both were abhorred that I was wearing their clothes because I didn't want to wake Kakashi when he was a lazy ass anyway. I commanded them to leave the poor man alone as for spite I stole Kakashi's large blue sandals and headed for the hokage's tower. It was peaceful out as I noticed that people gave me an even wider berth than they usually did. Some pointed and whispered to others as some did double takes. I noticed that Chouji and Ino's mouths dropped open when I walked by as I headed into town. I stopped to look at my reflection in a window display. Did I have underwear stuck to me or was my hair super messy? I looked at myself as I finally noticed my shocking resemblance to Sasuke with my hair pulled back. My eyes were the exact same shape as his as was the set of my nose and eyebrows. It was shocking really once the neckband was in place. The only different was my long purple hair and blue-white eyes.

Now I knew what everyone was staring at. The new Uchiha. The only female of the cursed line. I continued my trek ignoring the stares and whispers as I noticed wherever I went in my outfit an air of shocked silence followed me. It was quite irritating as I turned the corner to see Iruka with Kurenai talking outside of a small perfume shop.

They both looked up as the silence that seemed to follow me finally reached them. They froze before Iruka smiled and waved to me. I smiled as I gave a wave back. It seemed the spell of silence was broken as sound returned and people went back to their normal lives.

'Hey Yukiko-san how are you this morning?' Iruka asked as I smiled.

'I'm great. Its laundry day so I borrowed some of the boy's clothing.' I said as Kurenai nodded.

'I know the feeling' she muttered as I smiled at the older woman. She clapped her hands and looked at Iruka. 'Have you seen Kakashi-kun? Pakkun came to my house looking for him last night supposedly he never returned to his house or the main compound last night.' Iruka looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I gave him a smug look.

'Yea he's at my house sleeping.' I said as Kurenai blinked then grabbed me into a hug giggling and twirling me around. She seemed incredibly happy as Iruka messed up my hair.

'Oh Yuki-san you have no idea how good you are for Kakashi-kun. I haven't heard of him sleeping or even going home for the bars before 4 am, let alone to have him sleeping soundly somewhere other than at his house.' She held me at arms length with her red eyes smiling. 'I don't think we can thank you enough' she gave me another rib crushing hug. I didn't know why she was so happy I mean yes Kakashi was pretty messed up but still he seemed fairly normal.

'Why are you so happy I mean, there's nothing wrong with Kakashi-kun… is there?' I asked as Iruka and Kurenai both looked suddenly depressed. Were they going to tell me or just stay silent as Iruka spoke up.

'Kakashi has been depressed for so long he started taking stupid risks on missions.' Iruka said as I looked at Kurenai.

'Suicidal risks. We were beginning to wonder if he really was suicidal or just liked to have the adrenaline rush from being so close to death. Either way it seemed so wrong.' Kurenai almost whispered as a few of Kakashi's close brushes with death surfaced in my memories, his memories actually. I looked at Kurenai and Iruka and smiled.

'Well I'm not going to be leaving him anytime soon. So I hope he won't take any more stupid risks' I stated as Iruka threw an arm over my shoulders.

'Then we should celebrate! We'll go out for ramen later, my treat!' Iruka said as I laughed and swung out from under his arm.

'You're just like Naruto-kun always thinking about ramen. But I sadly have some business at hokage tower first before I get any lunch. I guess I'll see you guys around?' I asked as they both nodded as a man with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth picked up Kurenai and swung her around planting a kiss on her ruby lips. I smiled before waving to the trio and heading back on my way. People still gave me a wide berth but at least they didn't fall silent as I came to hokage tower. The ridiculous secretary was in her usual desk but she looked different when I walked up to her desk.

'The hokage wanted to see me about a mission' I stated as the woman's eyes went huge.

'Just a minute Uchiha-sama!' she stuttered and ran down the hall toward where the hokage's office was. That was a surprising reaction compaired to the last time where she just glared at me like I was the scum of the earth. She returned minutes later and waited until I made a move toward the office where she promptly jumped out of my way making apologies. Why was everyone so afraid of the Uchiha clan? Sure Itachi was psycho but what had Sasuke done when he left? The Anbu guards nodded at me as they held open one of the heavy doors and allowed me into the large room. Tsunade sat at her desk with her aide holding onto a pig that was snorting rather annoyingly.

'Ah Yukiko-san good you're here this bird wont let me take the scroll she has or any of the other ones she is currently holding.' Tsunade jerked a thumb over at the large snowy owl sitting quite comfortably on the open window frame. I approached the bird as it gave a screech and flew to my arm. There were two piece of paper that were attached to the birds leg as I untied them and the owl took her post back on the window frame.

'Well what's in the papers?' Tsunade asked as I rolled one open. Both turned out to be summoning charms as I quickly pulled out a kunai and drew a small line of blood from my thumb running an X across each scroll. Both pieces of paper glowed blue before disappearing into a puff of smoke leaving two large scrolls sitting on the hokage's desk.

I grabbed the first scroll that was addressed to me and the other to Tsunade which was addressed appropriately to her. I waited for her to open and read her scroll. I assumed that the Yuki-kage had managed to translate his words appropriately for what ever he wanted me to do.

'Interesting. Seems that your yuki-kage wants to cooperate with Konoha in order for you to do some reconnaissance against a new threat that they have picked up on recently, even thought the problem they are discussing we have known about for quite awhile. Well it seems that having your country's support on this matter will not be an issue saying that they have recently received information about your new found family lineage and are proud that you are from such a prestigious family here. As for your mission it seems they have some very specific wants they even name the copy ninja here. Why would that be do you think?' Tsunade did not look impressed as I shrugged.

'I haven't a clue but, if my mission has anything to do with infiltrating a specific location then having more than one jounin on any S-class mission would be beneficial. What may I ask will I be doing with the copy ninja that Rin has outlined for you?' I asked as Tsunade tapped the scroll with a finger.

'You will be going to sound as one of Rin's ambassadors with Kakashi-san as the other ambassador and your translator. You will be looking for Orochimaru and his new Akatsuki dropout lackey named Maro, apparently you have met both of them already.' Tsunade looked at me as a shiver wormed its way down my spine at the thought of the black haired man and Kakashi's anguished screams at whatever he had done to Kakashi's organs.

'Yes I have met them before. That only means that I'll have to change my hair colour because I was wearing my mask. Although I doubt they'll forget my face if I don't wear contacts. My eyes are rather unique.' I stated as Tsunade nodded.

'It says they already took precautions for that and your scroll holds a summoning for not only your mission documents but also clothing and various other supplies that were thought that you and your 'patrol' as you call it would need.' Tsunade seemed rather intrigued about how to deal with my countries rather forward approach of how to do things.

'Is there anything else you would like hokage-sama or may I go inform Kakashi-san of our next mission?' I asked as Tsunade held up her hand.

'I want you to take Kakashi, Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto and Sai with you. It would seem strange for you to travel with no guards or only a small group of guards especially if you're supposed to be an ambassador going to a ball to announce that Rin is a neutral country in all of our affairs.' Tsunade said as I nodded. It really wasn't a good idea to send so many on this mission because Rin ambassadors usually only traveled with their patrols. But I guessed bringing my brother and Naruto along would not be so bad especially if either of them knew any of Orochimaru or Maru's weaknesses.

'That should be fine.' I stated as Tsunade nodded and waved her hand. I was dismissed as I turned and slipped the scroll into the holster on my left hip. The Anbu guards watched me leave and the secretary bowed to me on my way out. How strange it was to be feared for my family name. I headed back into town to either meet up with someone or head back to the house, whatever happened. People still stared as I suddenly recalled what Nori had said about her transferring all of my belongings to the Uchiha compound. I decided I might as well have a look at my heritage and inheritance. I strolled really seeing as I had no where important to be and I knew as soon as Kakashi realized I wasn't still snoozing by his side he'd be wide awake.

'You gave Kakashi and I the slip this morning very clever Yuki' Nori's low purr came from my right as she jumped off of a near by fence and transformed mid air into her massive preferred form it seemed as she came to walk beside me. A group of geisha squealed and ran from the large cat as I gave Nori a scratch behind one of her large ears. She purred and head butted my hip as I grinned.

'Is Kakashi awake at home?' I asked as Nori shook her head.

'No, Sakura put a silencing jutsu on the room he's been sleeping soundly since you went to be last night. He seemed really tired.' Nori looked at me with her ethereal grey-green eyes. I nodded as a huge stone gate with torn flags with fans on the sides and a poorly lit name plate the looked like it had burnt out millennia ago sat askew on the top of the gate.

'What a dump. I own all of this?' I said before opening the slightly rusted gate and walking inside. Nori followed as the gate managed to get stuck open so I gave up and left it. It was obvious that the grounds really hadn't been maintained from the leaves in piles sticking up through the snow and the gunk that had collected in the gutters. The buildings themselves were an awkward bundle of old and new with blue and red accents on the brown wood or white walls. It was super creepy walking through the silent necropolis of about 8 buildings including what looked like a closed bathhouse. Man I was from a rich family.

'Hey, this is Sasuke's home' Nori called as I saw her disappear into an older more traditional style of building that had a koi pond in front of the porch that looked sadly dilapidated and wild from years of neglect. Sasuke's house looked like it was in better care than some of the others but they all looked like they were in very good shape. Almost like they had been looked after even through all of these years that no one had lived in them it was utterly amazing. I pushed the door open to a small entrance way. It was extremely dark as I used a jutsu to create a little orb of fire that bobbed its way in front of me as I walked. The glow was a little eerie as I noticed the kitchen. It was quite clean as I saw Nori's foot prints in the thick dust that covered the floor. The house would be quite welcoming except for the oppressing silence that seemed to follow through out the house.

'Nori?' I called as the big cat's head popped around the corner before she disappeared again. I shrugged and followed her into the living room where the tatami mats looked like they hadn't seen the light of day for centuries and some even had blood stains on them from the massacre I assumed as I gently stepped over them. The silk patterned walls were faded as were some of the wall scrolls as I stepped into another large room. Nori was there as I noticed all of my stuff was set neatly around the room. This room oddly looked clean, fresh and used like someone had been living in the back part of the house but not the front. It was odd as Nori pulled out a duffle bag that was stuffed with clothing. I put it on my shoulder as Nori flicked her tail.

'I took a look at the other homes. They're in much the same shape as the front of this one. It's quite interesting only the back parts of all of the homes have been kept clean it seems.' She stated as I thought back to where the blood stains were.

'Are there blood stains near the front of all of the homes?' I asked Nori nodded as I came to the conclusion that no one went anywhere near the bloodstains because of what had transpired on that night. I sighed and shifted the heavy bag as Nori dragged over two duffels, one the contained scrolls and books and the other had what looked like weapons from the jingling it made when moved.

'That's all I could see that would be of importance to you' Nori stated as I nodded and she led the way out the back door into the virgin snow. Big, wet, chunky flakes were falling covering over our footprints as we headed back to the main street. I closed the rusty gates and locked them which someone before had neglected to do.

'YUKI-CHAAAAAAAAAAN!' I heard an obnoxious voice before someone slammed into me effectively winding me. Why did these things always happen to me? I looked to see spiky blonde as Naruto hugged the crap out of me.

'Happy to see me?' I asked as he let go and grinned before he started waving his arms and talking a mile a minute as Kiba and his dog ran up to us. He panted before starting up like Naruto did. I glanced between the two of them as they continued waving their arms and speaking so fast I had no idea what they were saying.

'STOP!' I yelled as both teens fell silent. 'Now what do you want first Naruto?' I asked as the blonde gave Kiba a grin.

'I want you to train with me today.' He stated as Kiba gave an annoyed snort.

'No way! I wanted her to train with us today. Hinata is her sister and in my team!' Kiba snapped as I put my hand over my face. Naruto rose to the bait.

'SO? She's Sasuke's sister and taken over the Uchiha household that means she's going to train with me!' he stated pointing to himself as Kiba growled. I put my hands between the two growling boys.

'Now, now how about I train with both of you today?' I stated as the both looked at me rather confused. I sighed. 'It's simple gather whomever wants to train with me today and I'll do my best.' I said as Kiba laughed.

'You can't take on all of us! We'd kill you within a few minutes!' Kiba laughed as there was a dark chuckle from behind me. I turned to see the sand siblings walking up the road behind us.

'We thought that too until she beat us without a sweat' Kankuro said as Temari shrugged.

'We were also 8 at the time and she was 12 so you never know we might be better than her now' Temari muttered as Gaara shook his head.

'I highly doubt sensei is weaker than we are' he stated as that seemed to end to conversation. I nodded as Gaara shifted his gourd on his back. 'We would also like to join you for some training Sensei' he stated as I nodded.

'Then let's go. I have to get Akane and drop off this stuff.' I said dumping a bag in each Naruto and Kiba's open arms.

'Hey why do we have to carry these?!' Naruto whined as I fixed him with a look.

'You want me to help you train? Then use your strong shinobi muscles for some endurance training before we get started' I stated as Temari covered her giggle in a cough. Naruto looked at me with something akin to annoyance as I laughed and we headed back to the house.

Hinata found us when we passed by the Hyuuga compound where TenTen was also waiting to see Neji but decided that she would join us instead. I had quite the tribe when I arrived back at the house.

'I'm home!' I called as Sakura's pink bob appeared through the peek hole above the kitchen counter.

'Hey! Kakashi-sensei is still asleep. You brought a lot of people home!' she said waving a ladle as Naruto promptly dropped the bag of weapons into the floor and ran for the kitchen.

'Naruto!' I roared as I heard the tinkle of something breaking from the inside of the bag. I really hoped it wasn't a broken chakra control device as Kiba set down his bag of books much more gently as I put the bag of clothes on the floor I dove into the weapons bag as I chucked kunai, sickles, shuriken, senbon needle packs, daggers, a spare sword, a collapsible stick when twisted had two blades produced from either end, various thicknesses of wires and of different types, a mace, four different razor edged boomerangs, a couple pairs of nun-chucks, a stack of exploding tags, another stack of stationary tags, and a stack of seal tags, a few boxes of throwing nails, some flash bombs, a few collapsible shuriken and finally I came upon the chakra control devices. The bottom of the bag was littered with them there had to be at least 100 of them. I noticed one of them was slightly crushed as I pulled it out of the bag and sat on the floor.

I looked it over carefully as I noticed that the face plate was cracked and one of the attaching arms was slightly askew. Nothing that couldn't be fixed with a few good tweaks of a screw driver as a set of said items appeared under my nose. I grabbed them and quickly fixed the little device. It was a good thing I had broken the one Orochimaru had attached to him and taken the centre part otherwise he could've learnt how to create that technology and that would've been disastrous as TenTen appeared in my line of view. I blinked and looked up as I noticed everyone had taken up residence on the couches watching TV while I had been fixing my weapon.

'What are these?' she asked taking a seat across from me as I explained the little weapon to her. Her eyes shone as I passed her the little device.

'These drain enemy ninja of their chakra completely and create a barrier so they cannot remove it. That is ingenious! And you recreated this technology off of the snow ninja? Wow your people really are creative!' I smiled and wrapped her hand over the little item.

'You keep it TenTen-san I know you will find a way to either re-create it or even make it better.' I said as the girl gave me a hug and pocketed the little weapon. I stood as my knees creaked and Naruto jumped off of the couch.

'Are we ready go to now?' he asked almost thrumming with excitement.

'Just a minute I'm going to make sure Kakashi-kun is still asleep' I said and hit the stairs. I slid down the hall as I came to my bedroom door. I heard people laughing and talking downstairs as I opened the door and slipped into my room. As soon as I was through the barrier the sounds of the outside world dissolved. All I could hear was Kakashi's smooth deep breaths with light snores and the slight rustle of my curtains as a breeze blew through the slightly open windows. I crossed the room and sat on the edge of my bed. Kakashi's forehead protector had fallen off in the course of his dreams and his face mask was askew giving him an adorable 5 year old like appearance especially with his more than messed up hair. I brushed back a few locks from his scarred eye as he gave a sigh and seemed to fall even more deeply asleep.

I smiled and pulled a few more blankets around him as I noticed that Sakura had gotten him out of his vest and gloves as I reached and put his forgotten forehead protector on top of the pile on my desk. I wondered why Kakashi was sleeping so much as I kissed his forehead and left him sleeping to go join the others. As soon as I was out the door a puff of smoke announced someone had appeared in the hallway. It turned out to be Pakkun. The small pug jumped when he noticed me as he trotted over and smelt my ankle.

'Is Kakashi here?' he asked as I nodded. 'Where is he and can I speak with him?' he asked as I shook my head.

'He's sleeping. He's been asleep since late last night and I don't have the heart to wake him especially if he's this tired Pakkun-chan.' I said as the little dog looked surprised.

'He's sleeping?' he asked as I nodded. The little dog looked around me to see his master indeed sound asleep in my bed hugging onto my fluffy body pillow. Pakkun moved away from the door as I slid it shut. The pug sat near the bathroom door and seemed to think for a minute before his tail wagged.

'Is there anything I can do for you?' I asked as the little dog shook his head.

'No. Thank you Yuki-san already you have managed to allow Kakashi to sleep more than I have seen him allow himself in years. He was becoming worrisome to watch over the last few years but now I am confident with leaving him in your care.' The little pug gave me a doggy smile as I heard Nori pad upstairs probably wondering why there was a dog of all creatures near her room. 'Good day Yuki-san' Pakkun said before disappearing in a puff of smoke the way he had come. Nori gave me an agitated look as I shrugged and hit the stairs. Everyone was ready to go as we headed to training ground six.

'Yuki-chan are you going to show us some super cool moves?' Naruto begged as I laughed and stood in the centre of the small clearing.

'First we are going to divide you up into different teams from your usual patrols. First patrol Naruto, Kankuro and Kiba. Second patrol Sasuke, Temari and Ino. Third patrol Sakura, Shikamaru, Neji. Fourth patrol Hinata, Chouji, Lee. Fifth team Gaara, Shino, TenTen. Alright let's begin. Team one you go first. You have ten minutes to try to disarm me of incapacitate me' I said as the boys all nodded. This group would be fun because they were all hot heads. I was so evil! Plotting different strengths and weaknesses in the groups that they would have to work around. BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! I laughed evilly as the trio took off to hiding in the surrounding trees.

Everyone watched from the sidelines waiting for their turn as I gave the boys a fair chance. I didn't use my blood line limit as I heard the creak of a tree branch to my left.

'RASENGAN!!!' Naruto yelled as a ball of condensed chakra flew at me. I noticed how he had also made clones. Cute trick as I made ice clones and hid in a nearby tree. My clones excelled at taijutsu as I managed to nock back a few of the clones with a round house kick and another disappeared from an upper cut followed by a scissor kick to the chest.

'GO YUKI-CHAN!' Lee cheered as my clones ran into the trees. I knew Kiba's little dog was looking for me as I saw him under the tree. I knew it was a cheap trick but it would help me in the long run. I attached chakra strings to the animal and allowed him to wander back to Kiba. I followed as I noticed all three of them were conferring together.

'SURPRISE!' I yelled unleashing a rain of weaponry on them with wires attached to the objects. Kiba and Kankuro managed to dodge as Naruto was pinned to a tree giving a roar of frustration as he struggled. I gave chase as Kankuro attempted to hold me off with his puppet as Kiba's dog circled around behind me. I smiled and set the stage for my frozen leaf jutsu. Kankuro unleashed a rain of poison senbon as I did a back hand spring and turned on my hand as I took a deep breath and blew it over my palm. Immediately a frost covered the entire area as the leaves on the trees became like razors. I kicked the nearest tree as the leaves flew off and flew at the boys. Kiba dodged and I landed a kick to his side, knocking him into a tree. I noticed Kiba's dog grabbed my arm as I flung him off and attacked Kankuro. The sand shinobi had been hit hard by the leaves as I turned and pulled him against me with a kunai to his throat and one at his stomach.

'I win!' I laughed as Kankuro burst out laughing and Kiba rubbed the slowly bruising spot where I had kicked him.

'NO FAIR!' Naruto whined as I left Kankuro go. The huge boy grasped me in a hug and gave me a noogie. I laughed as Kiba helped Naruto down and Kankuro gave Kiba's dog a scratch behind his ear.

'You guys are good though' I said as I rubbed a few bruises that Kiba's dog had left on my arm as well as where I had been forced to retreat. I hadn't been doing that much taijutsu in ages. Naruto handed me back my weaponry as I pocketed it.

'Good boy Akamaru!' Kiba called as I gave the now huge dog a scratch behind his ear. He seemed to melt a little as we headed back to the main clearing. The others were surprised to see the boys laughing when we came out of the trees.

'Team two you're next!' I said as Sasuke, Temari and Ino faced me in the clearing. These three were going for a direct approach as Sasuke drew his sword. I sighed and drew Akane from my back, Ino disappeared into the trees and Temari drew her fan. Crap I was going to be so sore after this. 'Ready?' I asked as the two looked at me and nodded. 'Go!' I said as Sasuke drew his sword down. I parried and did a cartwheel to avoid Temari's gust of wind. I blocked another one of Sasuke's attacks as I had to use my speed technique as I noticed that Sasuke was indeed a fair sword master. He managed to nick my hand as I took off a good section of his sleeve.

I dove to the right into a dive roll as Temari created a sandstorm. The area was whited out as I retreated into the trees. I saw red eyes as I immediately knew Sasuke had activated the sharingan. I put up my own version as I saw Ino trying to sneak up behind me.

'Hello Ino-chan' I said as the blonde gasped and screamed as I pinned her like a star against the tree behind me with kunai as Sasuke appeared on the tree branch I had just vacated. Damn Ino, cant keep her mouth shut. I fought my brother again as he turned his sword into pure energy. I dove left and left myself freefall to a lower branch. I attached some exploding notes to the branches as I skidded to a stop once again in the main clearing. I saw Temari as she threw senbon needles at me in a gust of wind. I spun Akane as the needles were deflective in random directions with random pings as the bounced off the hard steel.

'Surprise' Sasuke whispered as I turned and put a stationary tag onto his arm. Immediately he froze. He looked around shocked as Temari attempted to jump me. I ducked suddenly as she hit Sasuke not realizing he was frozen solid. I put a stationary note on her back as they were both frozen jumbled in a pile on the ground.

'Very good guys!' I said as Sasuke gave me a dirty look.

'You cheated!' Sakura yelled as I raised an eyebrow. I didn't even need to turn to see her outraged face.

'How's that Sakura-chan?' I asked as she went red.

'You used your bloodline limit! That's cheating!' she stated as I laughed and looked at her.

'So did Sasuke-kun, so technically he cheated first. That means that since the game was then open to cheating, I could do anything including my bloodline limit. Including giving him a wedgie or something as such. But instead I put a stationary note on him and Temari.' I said as I think I confused most of the people listening to me. Oh well!

I removed the notes from Temari and Sasuke and pocketed them as I heard Ino yelling.

'I'll go get her' Chouji volunteered and disappeared in the directions of her shouts. I wondered if any of my explosive tags had been set off yet. I didn't hear anything as I took a drink from the bottle that Kankuro handed me. I really had to pee but it could wait as Ino and Chouji came back. Ino looked rather pissed but took her loss graciously as she sat down beside Sakura and chatted up a storm.

'Next team!' I stated as Sakura, Shikamaru and Neji stepped up to the plate. We were about to begin when a certain tall silver haired jounin sauntered into the training area reading his X rated novel. I laughed when I saw him. His hair was more tousled than normal and he surprisingly wasn't wearing his vest. Maybe someone had stolen it from my room? I wondered as he sauntered up to me.

'Have a nice nap Kakashi-sensei?' Naruto teased as Kakashi looked up form his book.

'Why yes I did thank you Naruto. It was quite refreshing.' I said as everyone dead panned at his simple reply. He turned to me. 'Yukiko-san the Hokage said you have a scroll containing information about a mission we are supposed to be leaving for tomorrow. Should you not be getting ready for it?' he asked as I gave a nervous laugh. I had totally forgotten about the ambassador mission. Woopsie!

'Sorry guys. I'll have to finish this later. I have to go prepare for my mission.' I said as the others weren't upset and understood. I waved goodbye as they left in pairs and trios as Kakashi and I walked in silence. We weren't walking toward the house but in the opposite direction as I gave Kakashi a questioning look.

He didn't say anything as we walked. It was quite warm out and the snow had almost completely melted leaving a wet slushy muddy mess that coated everything it seemed. At one point Kakashi's hand caught my own as he threaded his fingers through mine. I felt incredibly small in that moment as his much larger hand almost completely encompassed mine. There wasn't anyone around that I knew but still the few people who saw me in Sasuke's shirt gave me a very wide berth and Kakashi a raised eyebrow.

'You're very intimidating in that outfit Uchiha-san' Kakashi teased as I punched his shoulder.

'Only because it broadcasts that I'm from the so called cursed clan. According to Sasuke we're all psychos' I laughed as Kakashi gave my hand a squeeze.

'You're only half Uchiha and I highly doubt you're crazy' he said offhandedly as I looked at a small display of paper, scrolls and brushes. I smiled

'That's always a good thing to know. That you think I'm not crazy' I laughed as he kissed the side of my neck before he gently pulled me along after him. 'Where are we going anyway?' I asked as we rounded a corner and a family compound gate came into view.

'Seeing as I've been asleep for the past 36 hours I have to feed Pakkun and the others. I assumed he came to see you earlier' he stated unlocking the wooden gate and ushering me inside. I nodded as I turned to see very traditional styled buildings all over the compound. There were only about four houses but everything seemed well maintained as Yasu and the two golden retrievers came bounding over.

'KAKASHI!' They barked then ploughed into me knocking me into the nasty slush that soaked me to the skin immediately. 'Let's play! Come on Yuki-chan! Play?' One of the golden's with the glasses bounded around me as the other sniffed my hair. I laughed and got to my feet with Kakashi's help as Pakkun came across the compound with the white dog and the other dog wearing bandages.

'Eh Yuki-chan I should probably introduce you.' He stated as he point to each dog.

Golden with glasses is Kuro, Golden with huge teeth that wants to eat me is Kiiro, the bandage wearing dog was Haiiro, the stupid white Akita was Shiro, The lazy tattooed mutt was Inu, and the short hound with big floppy brown ears was called Chairo.

I shivered as Kakashi gently grasped my upper arm and led me into the closest building. It was quite warm inside and looked lived in as I noticed that it smelt rather like dog. Wet dog to be precise.

'You should probably change out of those clothes unless you want to catch a cold.' Kakashi said as I felt a blush rise. Bad thoughts! NO down girl! I took a deep breath as Inu jumped into my lap.

I pet him as he gave a doggy sigh and rolled over so I could pet his stomach. The kitchen was rather bare except for the line of dog food bowls along the far wall of the kitchen. I assumed there was no human food here as I was surprised when Pakkun pulled out a pack of beef jerky and started eating. Kakashi returned in a few moments with what looked like a rather small pair of pants and a black t-shirt.

'It's all I could find' he admitted as I took the clothing from him. In all honesty it looked like it would fit an 8 year old. I moved past him upstairs as I didn't see a bathroom so I picked the closest bedroom. I closed the door and locked it making sure captain porn couldn't peek if he was tempted. I pulled off my soaked clothing noticing even my mask-tank had managed to get soaked from Kuro wanting to play. I wasn't walking around without a mask. That was a definite as I looked around the room. I spotted a small dresser to one side of the room as I pulled open the top drawer. It seemed that there a great amount of children's clothing in the top as I pulled out a rather small tank-mask that I hoped would at least cover my face. I pulled it over and it surprisingly fit. Except that it fell a good 7 inches short of where my pants met my mesh shirt, I muttered a few choice words as I pulled on the black T-shirt that was snug but covered thankfully. I looked at the pants Kakashi had grabbed me. They turned out to be more like tights that came to my knees as I stifled a laugh looking at how ridiculous I looked as I twirled around.

Kakashi must have worn masks all of his life it occurred to me as I was standing in his room from when he was a child. In all honesty it was rather bare except for a bookshelf full of what looked like old manga and a few children's movies. The bed even looked serious with a boring dark green duvet and white pillows.

I walked to the door and unlocked it. I needed to find a skirt or something to hide my huge ass and unseemly legs yes I am a girl and we all have insecurities. These were mine; I headed down the hall with my bundle of wet clothes as I poked my head into another room. It was another bedroom as I snuck inside. I went to the closet to see very old versions of Kakashi's uniform hanging covered in a thick layer of dust. I assumed these were his fathers as on the far side I noticed Kimonos beautiful rich colours covered in clear plastic bags. Maybe they were his mothers? I closed the closet and left the room. Best not to touch anything in there as I searched the rest of the upstairs. There was nothing really except some chew toys and a dead mouse as I broke down and tied a red bed sheet around my hips and walked downstairs.

'I think that is the longest I've ever seen someone take to change' Kakashi teased as I rolled my eyes. The dogs were making a terrible racket as the scoffed down the food Kakashi had put out while I had been upstairs. I set the wet clothes on the table as Kakashi stood and enveloped me in a hug. He was nice and warm as I gave him a hug back. 'You're freezing' he stated as suddenly I had a blue scarf being wrapped around my neck and a large black sweater wrapped around my shoulders.

I looked up at him and laughed as he gave me an eye smile and ruffled my hair. That's when I remembered the scrolls in my wet clothes. I hoped they weren't too saturated as I ducked under Kakashi's arm and retrieved the scrolls. I pulled them out of the inside pocket of Sasuke's shirt. It was a little damp but no worse for wear as I gently undid the seal and unrolled the scroll on the table. Kakashi stood beside me as I fiddled with trying to get the slightly soggy summoning paper away from the mission paper without tearing it. Kakashi waited as I slowly and patiently removed the two slips of paper.

'AH HA! Got you, you little bugger!' I laughed setting the summoning charm aside and returned to my mission scroll. It was written in English as Kakashi stared at it like it was going to bite him or do an amazing trick in a second. I wasn't sure which as he gently took the paper and looked at the little letters that made up the words.

'Is this English?' he asked as I nodded and he looked over the array of letters. 'How do you not get confused with so many little scratches put together?' he asked as I sat down.

'It's really easy. There's 26 letters and each one of those letters can be put in different places to make different words. It takes a while to get the hang of it because some words sound the same but mean different things and the order of the words can be tricky.' I said as Kakashi nodded. I took the scroll from him and began reading.

_Yukiko Uchiha and Kakashi Hatake you have been assigned a reconnaissance mission into the country of sound. You will be posing as ambassadors from Rin in making a false truce with the leader of sound at their annual alliance ball. Seeing as Yukiko has already come in contact with the suspected targets transformation jutsus will not be sufficient especially at such an occasion. Alternative disguises have already been tailored and can be summoned with the paper inside of this scroll. Nori is expected to have found you by now. She MUST attend the ball with you for appearance sake. Kakashi Hatake is going as your body guard and Nori will accompany you as a translator. _

I stopped reading aloud as I read the bottom part to myself.

_Yukiko, we are glad to see that you are safe and well in the east. The yuki-kage is proud that you have gone so far as to even claim a title for yourself as the dragon faced warrior as our eyes and ears have reported to us. We have had Nori connect a great deal of new technology and summoning scrolls for your use. Stay strong and may the mountain winds always reach you._

It was a very nice statement from Kouga-kun, the yuki-kage's secretary that dealt with the snow leopard clans directly. Too bad I hadn't heard directly from Gin-san, the yuki-kage about how he was holding up in his new position in office.

'Penny for them?' Kakashi asked as I smiled and gave him a hug. He chuckled and kissed my forehead. 'Now let us see what your people call ambassador clothes' he reached for the summoning scroll as Yasu let out a deep growl. Both of us turned to see Nori looking rather peeved standing on the kitchen window frame in her petite form. I got up and let her in as all of the dogs went wild barking. Kiiro jumped at Nori as she hissed and gave the large dog a swat on the nose with her razor sharp claws. He jumped back with a whine as Kakashi gave only what I could call a very low, very deep growl that even had me jump as all of the dogs settled down. I looked at the jounin as he gave me his usual bored stare.

'Meow?' I raised an eyebrow as he did likewise. Nori gave a catty snort and jumped onto the table.

'I can't believe you prefer him AND canine company to mine' she sniffed as she rolled on the table. I heard a growl from Yasu.

'Don't push your luck cat.' He muttered as Nori jumped off the table and in a puff of smoke was her normal size. Which happened to be nearly twice the size of the bull mastiff as the huge dog shrank back from the fierce cat.

'Do you have a problem dog?' she asked as they all shook their heads and put their tails between their legs. 'Good' Nori returned to her kitten size and jumped up onto the table. I giggled at the sight of the 8 famous ninja dogs now cowering from a single cat.

'She's scary.' I heard Shiro mutter as Pakkun jumped onto the table. Nori looked amused as Pakkun kept a respectable distance from her.

'We are sorry for causing any inconvenience Nori. I am Pakkun, you and your mistress are welcome here.' He said albeit grudgingly as Nori gave a nod and obviously dismissed the conversation. I looked at Kakashi as we both weren't sure what had just happened but knew it was a good thing.

'Animals' we both sighed as the animals in question all gave us dirty looks.

'Let's see our outfits' I stated pulling out a kunai and pricking my thumb. Blood oozed to the surface as I quickly wiped a large X over the front of the scroll. It glowed bright purple before I shriveled up and with a flourish of snow left four packages neatly on the table. On was labeled Kakashi, one Yukiko, another Nori and the last was a pack that had supplies and other things written on it in English. I handed Kakashi his pack as I took mine and pulled it apart. I knew these outfits would be shockingly warm because we had to play our part and look like we were from a colder climate but what they gave us I thought was a bit much.

I unpacked a deep purple cloak with a dark fur trim. Thick new fir traveling boots, a set of dress pants that were fashioned to look like a skirt that was navy blue, a beautiful new yukata that was pure white with dark purple Ice village symbols falling like flakes, a Purple Obi that had sash like arms that fell to the floor a black tank-mask, a new set of wire-mesh shirt and leggings and finally they had packed a set of jewelry for me to wear. It was quite nice. If the cloak was ridiculous and the fir trim on the bottom of my yukata was a bit much too.

'How are you supposed to wear this?' Kakashi asked as I looked over to see him fiddling with the monkey fist clasps on his white jacket top. I showed him how the clothes should fit. He was supplied with a jacket with monkey fist ties, a navy blue cloak much like mine, black leggings, a set of fur traveling boots the typical two belts to be crossed over his hips and have various weaponry hanging from them and a Anbu like chest plate but in blue and a set of tank-masks had been supplied for him as well.

'Rin has very warm clothes.' He stated as I poked in and around the miscellaneous bag. There was some make up, mostly weapons, a few articles of underwear for me, some cat kibble, and I gave up looking because after the cat kibble I didn't want to know!

Kakashi stripped off the clothes as I turned away to keep from drooling. It was terrible that he had that bad of an effect on me as I snuck a peak thought my lashes at his upper body. He was definitely athletically toned but not overly so which was very nice. As Kakashi turned and gently lifted my chin.

'Something you like?' he asked as I grinned.

'If you were a cupcake you wouldn't be alive' I giggled as he gave me an eye smile. I gently reached up and moved his forehead protector away from his eye. He seemed surprised as he kept the sharingan eye closed and gave me a confused look.

'Why do you keep it covered?' I asked tracing the vertical scar that ran over his eye and cheek before disappearing under his mask. He didn't answer as he opened the sharingan. It really didn't disturb me but the brilliant red was a shocking contract to his other warm brown.

'Most people find it rather frightening and its disorientating at times to keep my eye open. It's like taking off sunglasses when you're inside for a long period of time. Everything seems uncomfortably bright and clear.' He stated as I nodded. I knew the feeling all too well as I watched the three commas spin in his eye for a second I felt extremely warm and my heart rate sped up before Kakashi looked away.

'It must be nice not to have to cover your eye though isn't it?' I asked as he shrugged but didn't give me more of an answer than that as he pulled his black sweater back on and bundled up his missions clothing.

'Naruto and Sasuke are at the front gate.' Pakkun announced as Kakashi gave a weird hand symbol the looked like a rock-on gesture before Kuro ran out of the room. Kakashi pulled down his forehead protector as I poked it back up. He gave me an annoyed look and tried to move my hand but I held firm.

'You're not putting it down' I stated as he gave me a raised eyebrow. I grinned as I suddenly found myself upside down hanging from a rope around my ankles from the ceiling. Kakashi looked up at me his red eye open as I was still grinning like a maniac. I could totally embarrass him and I was definitely going to as I heard footsteps on the front porch.

'Oh Kakashi-chan, this is so kinky! I love it rough!' I purred as Kakashi's eyes went wide as the front door burst open and a red faced Sasuke and a laughing Naruto were revealed.

Sasuke stalked into the room and looked at Kakashi at almost eye level. The jounin held up his hands as Sasuke's sharingan commas spun dangerously. Naruto was still laughing as I swayed slightly my arms resting blow my head as my shirt and skirt were flipped forward by force of gravity blinking me and pretty much revealing my tight clad body to the world. I lifted my shirt to attempt to promote some modesty to no avail though. The boys were still at a stand off as I started to get a headache.

'Hey I know you guys are having a lovely tea party over there but can you GET ME DOWN!' I hollered as Sasuke threw a kunai over his shoulder splitting the rope and causing me to fall. I tucked into a roll and landed on my feet as I then figured out there were still bound together as I hopped for a second before loosing my balance and wind-milled my arms in an attempt to stay standing. Nope, no such luck. I fell and luckily took down Kakashi and Sasuke with me!

'Ow, Yukiko-san' Kakashi moaned rubbing where my hand had caught him and I noticed the forming of a black bruise around his eye. Sasuke was rubbing a bump on his head as I gave my best innocent smile.

'I love you' I said sweetly to both of them as Sasuke gave me a glacier glare and Kakashi dead panned as Naruto laughed even harder.

'Stop, stop, I'm going to pee myself!' he laughed as I cut my feet free and stood up.

'You're pathetic for an elite Ninja you know' Nori said as I glared at her.

'If you want to be fed you'll keep your trap shut' I said as Nori shrugged and slinked over to where I was standing.

'I take my comment back you are an amazing kunoichi with abilities incomparable to anyone else' Nori said as I rolled my eyes.

'Kiss ass' I muttered as Nori gave me a brilliant cattish smile. I rolled my eyes as Sasuke gave a chuckle.

'I think I'm beginning to like you Nori' Sasuke said as Nori gave a snicker. Kakashi hadn't pulled down his forehead protector as I gave him a smile.

'So what did you want?' I asked as Naruto came over brandishing a silver coloured tunic that I noticed was in the Rin monkey fisted style.

'We have no idea how to wear these!' he showed me his clothing as instructed Kakashi to put his on. The jounin sighed and changed as the two boys almost laughed.

'So we have to look like Gaara-kun' Naruto laughed as I looked at the outfit Kakashi was wearing. Except for the colours the design was fairly close to what Gaara wore around. I laughed, the kid had stolen the design of my old robes from when I had taught him and modified the colours more for the desert.

'Yes pretty much, those monkey fist ties will probably through you off though.' I stated as Naruto dressed himself and twirled. His silver tunic and royal blue vest looked sharp as Sasuke watched with a rather bored air.

'I can't believe I have to wear the same colours as him.' Sasuke muttered as he produced a tunic the exact same colour of silver but with a navy blue vest and pants. I shrugged,

'You are all playing the role of my guards of course you have to appear slightly following that part.' I said as Sakura showed up at the front door.

'Hey!' she called stepping over the fallen door. She carried a bundle of clothing as well hers was again a silver tunic but hers was fashioned more like mine as a yukata with a light purple vest and black leggings. 'Uh yuki-chan how do you wear this?' she asked as I laughed and pointed to Kakashi as Sakura jumped. 'Wow, Kakashi-sensei you look really good!' she muttered rather astonished as I jumped the tall jounin hugging one of his arms.

'I know and he thinks he looks stupid!' I whined as Kakashi gave me a look.

'I never said that' he stated as I stuck out my tongue at him. Everyone seemed surprised when Yasu gave my butt a nip and I went running to the other side of the room.

'What was that for?!' I roared as Yasu just panted and turned his head. Everyone laughed as Pakkun strolled up and sat on Kakashi's foot.

'You should change into the people they gave you photos of. I assume that they're in the backpack.' Pakkun yawned as I glared at the dogs before digging into the pack. I found a stack of Rin forehead protectors a wad of cash and a bag of coins, some gloves and finally a thick manila envelope. It was pretty nondescript as I opened the flap. I pulled out a set of photos as I handed them out. The were never people I had personally seen from Rin and judging by their clothing in the photos they had probably been dead for almost a 100 years.

'Alright those are your people. Let's see them!' I said grinned as Naruto changed into his person. It was a simple jutsu really as instead of Naruto there was a red head with long hair and blue tattoos of stripes on his cheeks with much the same physique. Wearing his clothing he looked nothing like Naruto at all.

Sasuke was next he turned into a man whose body was much a replica of Kakashi's but his hair was almost a white blonde with fierce blue eyes. He looked much his part even in his uniform. Sakura changed into a stunning brunette with warm chocolate eyes and hair cut into waves that fell to her shoulders. She was larger than normal Sakura as she seemed to notice her new height and grinned. Kakashi and I were last Kakashi sighed and transformed he had roughly the same athletic build but his silver hair was now black and straight and pulled back into a loose plait with green eyes, even his Sharingan was gone from his left eye. It was stunning really. Lastly me, I made myself a little taller, it hurt like a bitch to make yourself taller when transforming because you actually had to make your cells accustomed to the different displacement of weight. I changed my eyes to a warm brown colour and my hair I changed to a black. Fairly common was my aim so as not to stand out.

'Wow we all look so strange' Naruto muttered as I nodded, the black tresses were weird compaired to my normal purple hair. I grinned and instructed them on the face mask.

'You have to be completely anal about your face mask. At all times you must hide your face. Kind of like Kakashi-san and myself, It's part of Rin's culture to always have the lower half of your face covered. If were out on specific missions we usually have carved masks. Since we are not supposed to be on a mission we do not have cool masks.' I stated as Naruto grumbled about the fact.

'But Yuki-chan aren't you going to a ball? Doesn't that mean you need a dress?' Sakura pointed out. I nodded, this back hair was really freaking me out as there was a pop and a flurry of snow before another package lay on Kakashi's kitchen table. I investigated as I grabbed the note.

_Sorry forgot the evening wear, my bad! – Kouga_

Of course the dunce would forget.

'Who's Kouga?' Naruto asked as I jumped and whirled around to see them all hovering over my shoulders trying to read the note. I shoved it in my mouth as Sasuke tried to grab it from me. He gave me a polar glare as I smiled, the paper crackling in my mouth.

'How childish' Sasuke muttered as I gave him a glare and swept the note from my mouth to my pocket but before I could blink Kakashi had it in his hand. Damn that man and his super speed!

'So what does it say?' Kakashi asked looking at me as I shrugged, playing it cool.

'It says I'm sorry we have been apart for so long my love! Here is but a token of my gratitude for becoming such an honorable and strong ninja away from Rin. My heart pines for you so but alas our love can never be for you are too far from my reach therein take this token as my affection and adoration of you' I said as Naruto burst into laughter, Sakura giggled and Sasuke gave a deep chuckle. Kakashi gave me a dead panned look as I laughed.

'All of that cannot be put into that many little words' Kakashi pointed to the little slip of paper as I rolled my eyes.

'Of course not silly. It says 'Sorry, forgot the evening wear my bad, Kouga' that's all' I said as then Kakashi chuckled. This guy was weird at best as everyone gave him a disbelieving look.

'You really are something else Kakashi-sensei' Naruto muttered as Sakura nodded.

AN: Hey everyone sorry that the spaces between my chapters have been longer but I'm quite sick and getting the energy to type has been challenging but no matter! I will continue on! Thanks for your review keep sending them! –demonica BTW if my characters seem a little OOC its because I'm having a bit of fun with the entire plot line. I know many of the characters in the shippuden series aren't together like in my story and I also know that some of the people spoken about in my story are dead at this current time. If this bothers you I am sorry but artistic license is mine for this plot. Have a good day =D


	12. black eyes and blinding smiles

We decided to head back to the house to prepare for our trip the next morning as Sakura suggested we go to the next town over for a movie. I agreed it had been a long time since I'd seen a movie and the past three towns I had been in hadn't had a movie theatre. Kakashi opted out and promptly disappeared on our way to the house. Supposedly Sakura said he didn't like movies and preferred reading because movies always spoiled the true splendor in imagination. She was waiting for his favorite X rated novel to some to theatres so he could eat his words.

The evening went by in a flash as we hit the next town over that was a civilian town without ninja. It was quite large as I even noticed a few cars and buses going around town as well as a great deal of more overweight people. I felt so skinny after some woman with I swear her own orbit nearly bit my hand off of the last box of chocolate covered raisins. Sheesh, some people really!

We saw an action flick called Kung Fu legends III that had the worst ninja and even worse special effects but the explosions and car chases made up for the bad acting and obvious wired back flips. We stopped at a local sushi bar as per Sakura's insistence. I think it was more so for Sasuke as I had vegetarian rolls without the row and Naruto ordered ramen of course. I think that was the only sushi restaurant I had ever been in where they served ramen too. Overall the evening was a success as we headed back to Konoha along one of the many side roads that led to various towns surrounding Konoha.

'So you and Kakashi-sensei.' She gave me a smug look before it turned into complete desperation 'So tell us, what's under his mask?' Sakura asked as I blinked.

'To tell you the truth I haven't seen under his mask yet. Now I'm curious, have you guys?' I asked as they all gave a rather frustrated sigh.

'We tried when we were kids it didn't work to well. Turns out he just wears another mask under the black one, how weird is that?' Sasuke muttered as a devious plan came to mind.

'How about we unmask your sensei?' I stated as they all looked at me like I was crazy.

'We can't unmask Kakashi-sensei, he's one of the best ninja Konoha has, and rumour has it that he could be the next hokage even.' Naruto exclaimed as Sakura looked thoughtful as Sasuke seemingly dismissed the idea completely.

'Well we might not be able to but Yuki-chan probably could. While she was busy unmasking Kakashi-sensei we could get a few photos by hiding.' Sakura thought aloud as I nodded. Sasuke gave us a disbelieving look.

'You can't be serious? This stupid plan has failure written all over it' Sasuke stated as I shook my head.

'It might be nearly impossible but if anyone could do it, it would be Yuki-chan, I mean have you seen how relaxed and open he is around her?' Sakura said, grinning as Naruto yawned.

'If Kakashi-sensei were any more relaxed he'd be dead.' Naruto muttered as Sakura struck him.

'Kakashi-sensei is rarely relaxed! He's always worrying about something like your training stupid!' she roared as Sasuke and I took a step away from her. She could be quite scary when she was defending her opinion.

'Are we actually going to try this?' Sasuke asked as I gave a nod. He grumbled a bit but reluctantly agreed. I knew he was insanely curious as was I as to what the great Kakashi hid under his mask.

'Excuse me Miss Uchiha!' I heard someone call as I turned to see Iruka of all people running from the gates of Konoha. We all ran over to see what was up as he stopped panting.

'What's up Iruka-sensei?' Naruto asked as the chounin stopped and gasped for breath.

'Uh, wow, running. The hokage asked me to find you. There is a bit of a situation back at the village.' He said looking a little distressed. I wondered what was up as we all rushed back to the village. Iruka looked like he had been running around trying to find us for the better part of an hour as he took me to a radically different part of town that I had never been to.

The place we went to was actually behind the mountain with the giant stone heads and looked more like a fortification with guards posted outside and the compound looked very military with bars on the windows and boring cement walls.

'Uh Iruka, where are we?' I asked as Sakura looked rather bored.

'Were at the interrogation hall above the prison; Why are we here of all places?' Sakura asked as Iruka gave a sheepish grin.

'The hokage wanted to use Miss Uchiha to bribe some information out of a captive we have before you left on your mission tomorrow morning. Sorry' Iruka muttered rubbing the back of his neck as I waved it off. 'You all can head home and she'll be home in a few hours' Iruka stated as the teens shrugged and departed. I hoped upon hope that this wasn't going to be someone I had fought nor had any connection to as Iruka led me down into the darkness of the mountain.

The hallway itself was painted a painfully bright white as we passed at least four levels of security before turning down another nondescript white hall to a plain white door marked interrogation. Iruka pushed the door open as my eyes because accustomed to the gloom inside. There were four people in the room, Tsunade, an enormous man with scars across his face, head and hands, Kurenai was leaning against a wall her fierce red eyes looked annoyed and the fourth was Genma with his usual senbon needle clicking between his teeth as he watched the interrogation.

'I told you psychos I DON'T KNOW!' the enraged roar made the mirror shake as Iruka and I entered the little booth. Kurenai gave a nod as I looked at who was being interrogated. Kakashi was leaning against the wall behind the girl as I immediately knew who it was. Katrina. One of the most annoying, arrogant and stupid assassins Rin had ever produced. She thought she was a god because her family had two yuki-kages in her lineage which gave her family a rather high and mighty title.

'Great Katrina. This will be an adventure' I muttered to myself as I looked at the petite blonde with huge sapphire eyes and a very boyish figure. Kakashi looked through the mirror as I knew he knew that I was there.

'Do you know her Uchiha-san?' Tsunade asked as I gave a curt nod.

'Yes, unfortunately and she's a rather annoying personality type although I have no idea what she is doing here.' I said as a file was thrust under my nose. I opened it. Turns out that she was caught snooping around the academy library and had proclaimed that she was working for a mysterious man that appeared as a hologram to her. Sounded rather spacey to me but that was Katrina, common sense seemed to elude this girl constantly. She seriously should never have become an assassin let alone a ninja.

'Kakashi-san isn't getting anywhere and none of us can. We took note of her coat symbol and knew that you would probably be the one to get some information out of her otherwise we'll have to use Kakashi's technique.' Tsunade outlined the plan for me as she gave a nod to Genma who left the room grabbing my arm gently on the way out. I guessed I was going to be the next interrogator as Genma knocked on the door. In a moment Kakashi opened the door and came out.

'Oh Yukiko-san are you having a turn with our friend?' Kakashi asked. His voice was very level almost like he was completely pissed off and trying to hide it as I gave a nod. Kakashi brushed past me as I felt someone pinch my butt. I jumped and turned to glare at the jounin but all I saw was his snowy hair as he disappeared into in booth. Genma gave a chuckle as I fixed him with a you-tell-anyone-and-they-wont-find-your-body glare as he immediately shut up and paled before opening the door for me. I strode in as Katrina gasped.

'YUKIKO?!' she screeched as I gave her a glare. She glared at me as I threw her file on the table.

'How stupid are you Katrina?' I asked as the girl glared at me. I circled the table glaring at her. 'Do you have any idea what the yuki-kage is going to say after I give him my report about my missions and finding you captured by Konoha?' I asked as she sniffed.

'The yuki-kage won't mind bailing me out. I did do anything, I was just snooping around its not like I actually took anything!' she huffed as I felt my temper rising. I clamped down on it. How stupid did you get?

'THIS ISNT A GAME KATRINA!' I roared slamming my hands onto the table as she jumped in her chair and paled. Good she was scared. 'The yuki-kage wont 'bail you out' Katrina. I'm going to do you a favour though. You tell me who you were working for and I'll see if I can pull some strings for you' I said as the blonde's eyes hardened and she gave me a penetrating glare.

'I already told them. I don't know. He just came to me as a hologram while I was in stone country heading home. He gave me 35 million ryou, like I was going to pass that down! And what all I had to do was sneak in here and look for a scroll. Simple and easy.' She stated as I grinned.

'Well now were getting somewhere. What scroll were you looking for?' I asked as she glared at me.

'Like I'd tell you, all I've heard since you left was Poor yuki-chan, too bad Yuuto-kun died. Oh what a tragedy, the pour soul she was next to be yuki-kage too. Akio-kun should've taken position a weapons master; yuki-chan was a hero for saving the village. Blah, blah, blah. You hogged the spotlight Yukiko! No one else but you the precious snow baby could take hold of the people's hearts. So when I heard you had found your new title and original home here in Konoha I had to come and see. Turns out Kouga was right, you have found everything you wanted so you better damn well get me out of here if you're still going to claim you're from Rin!' she snapped as I felt myself shaking with fury. I felt my nails puncture my palms as she even had that audacity to spit at me. I moved so fast no one knew I had moved. I slammed her against the wall my hand around her neck as she clawed at my arm.

'You want me to get your arrogant little ass out of here? Then you better start talking. After that little speech I don't feel like helping you Katrina.' I growled as she gasped for air. 'You have no idea what I went though when Yuuto and Akio died. NO IDEA. Now you better start talking before I send my friend in here to MAKE you talk.' I whispered dangerously as I dropped her from the wall.

She gasped for air as she hit the ground and glared at me. I regarded her coolly as she coughed and gave me the finger. I smiled and laughed. She really was pathetic.

'So are you going to tell me who you were working for or what scroll you were looking for?' I asked as her eyes went steely.

'Go fuck yourself' she growled as I shrugged. Fine, Kakashi could have her.

'Kakashi-kun, could you come in here please? It seems she needs some persuading' I called as Katrina rubbed her sore throat. A bruise was forming where my hand had been as the door behind me opened and the tall jounin strode in. I looked at the mirror and saw vague shapes behind it. I knew they were watching. I had no idea what Kakashi's technique was as I watched him actually lower his mask.

Now to say Kakashi was good looking was an understatement. He was closer to Adonis than anyone human as I looked at his face. His features weren't anything amazing but merely the way they fit together almost gave him an ethereal masculine beauty. Surely if Kakashi wanted he could have any woman in the world, just by having them see his face he could reduce them to piles of pudding.

'Well Katrina it seems I have no other option but to use my last resort.' Kakashi sighed in a rather resigned manner. Katrina resembled more of a goldfish as she gaped at the jounin. A grin crossed my face at least I was of a stronger mentality to continue thinking even when Kakashi was turning on the charm.

'So can you tell us what scroll you were looking for?' he asked his voice low and almost seductive as she nodded. I had to use just about all of my self control not to throw myself at him and kiss the bejesus out of him in that moment as I fixated on Katrina.

'The scroll of forbidden jutsus' she managed to mumble out her eyes never leaving Kakashi's face as I shook my head dispelling Kakashi's charm momentarily and wrote the information in the manila folder. Kakashi took a seat at the white desk in the room propping his feet on the desktop.

'Ah and why were you looking in the library?' he asked as a shiver ran down my spine. Kakashi was good at manipulation, it was almost scary the pull he had with his looks and masculine tone.

'He said there would be information there of where the scroll might be' she whispered almost huskily as I gave Kakashi a warning look. He gave me a sympathetic look almost like he was actually the one in pain, not me, from having to listen to Katrina in her lust induced state.

'Really what was his name and did you find any information on the scroll?' Kakashi asked as Katrina nodded.

'His name was Maro and I couldn't find anything about the forbidden scroll.' She said as Tsunade's voice came over the intercom.

'Were done Kakashi and Yukiko you can head home.' The voice was crackly as I nodded and slid the folder under my arms.

'Thank you Katrina' Kakashi smiled as the girl suddenly spouted a nosebleed and passed out. I jumped as Kakashi shook his head.

'Dammit Kakashi you had to smile!' Tsunade's voice was a little annoyed as Kakashi smiled again. For a moment I think my heart stopped as all I could see was Kakashi and his brilliant smile before his facemask was once again in place and the world seemed to turn again.

'-right Yukiko-san?' he asked as I shook my head and looked at him.

'Sorry zoned out what was the question?' I asked as Kakashi gave me his usual aloof look and put his hands in his pants pockets.

'We have a mission tomorrow that will require us leaving around 9 right?' he said as I gave a nod. He walked past me and gave a bored wave before teleporting away in a puff of smoke. I sighed and followed suit heading for the house as two chounin swept up the unconscious Katrina, I hoped she would have a rather unpleasant stay for her idiocy of getting caught.

That night trying to fall asleep was challenging. All I could smell was Kakashi's clean masculine scent all over my sheets. Nori had even opted to sleep on my chair instead of the bed because of it. I lay there as the little blue numbers in my penguin clock slowly changed. It was more than likely close to three am when I finally drifted off into a fitful sleep, then came the dreams. It was strange the dream as it seemed almost like a recalled memory than a dream.

_I looked around as a tall man who looked like Naruto of all people as it felt like I had known him all my life and trusted him. It was incredibly weird as a boy with goggles on his face whined about having to go on our mission. A cute little brunette with purple facial tattoos gave me a warm smile I wanted to hug her she was so adorable as the blonde explained our mission. We were going to sneak into grass and take out a bridge so that enemy forces couldn't readily receive supplies. _

'_Alright! Let's go!' Obito cheered as the name registered something in the back of my head but I ignored it. Annoyance rose instead as I gave the kid a glare._

'_Now remember Kakashi is commander because he just reached jounin level. I will leave you and divert around to attack the enemy face on, good luck team!' the blonde stated as we headed into the deep forest. It was quite as we passed enormous trees with umbrella like mushrooms that protruded from the side of the trees. We walked in a line myself in the front Rin, Obito and sensei behind me as I noticed the chakra patterns hidden in a few of the trees. I gestured for all of us to hide as we ducked beside an enormous root._

'_I'm going in first' I stated as sensei gave me a nod. I didn't know how I did it but I made hand signals as chakra flew into my hand until I manipulated it into electricity. The chirping of the static sounded like a thousand birds. My sensei held out his hand as I ignored him._

'_I am the commander today sensei, which means you have to listen to my commands. Cover me' with that I took off with speed I didn't know I possessed as the electricity chirped in my hand. I ran for the first chakra sign as Kunai flew at me. I dodged now knowing exactly where everyone was hidden. I unleashed the lightning as it took out one man, which turned out to be a clone. I cursed myself and turned to attack another as someone appeared behind me. I froze as someone grabbed me but not before the katana made contact with my shoulder. DAMMIT! Sensei set me back beside Rin as she quickly set to healing my shoulder. _

'_That was stupid and reckless! You deliberately went against sensei's orders and did something crazy!' Obito shouted at me. God that kid was irritating, I was fine._

'_I'm fine. I really don't want to talk to you. Crybaby. Don't you know shinobi rule 25 never show your tears?' I stated as Rin poked my shoulder electing a hiss out of me. _

'_There was something in my eye! I wasn't crying!' he snapped as sensei appeared._

'_both of you stop. First Obito your goggles were down so you couldn't get anything in your eye and Kakashi the rules aren't everything. You also have to adapt and cope with a situation that involves teamwork. One more thing, never use that attack again Kakashi, Yes you have the speed and the power but because of your speed you cannot see the counter attack. Now remember TEAMWORK that is what we all rely on. Now let's get moving.' Sensei scolded us as I knew he was right and I had been stupid. As we moved out, my shoulder was sore the cut had been deeper than I had suspected but nothing to hindering. It seemed as if a time jump occurred because the next thing I knew we were walking through a forest of huge bamboo shoots. It was quite as I felt a flare of chakra in the water in front of me. In an instant a shinobi appeared and Obito unleashed a massive fireball jutsu. I was attacked from the side as I fought him off managing to slice his shoulder before I heard a strangled gasp from where Rin had been. I landed on the water to see the shinobi I had been fighting as well a bigger burlier one come up and grab an unconscious Rin._

'_we'll take care of her for you!' he grinned sadistically as I felt my heart stop as they both disappeared. _

'_We have to go after them!' Obito snapped as he began to run in the direction the shinobi had taken off in._

'_NO! we have to complete our mission.' I said as Obito stared open mouthed at me. _

'_What, WHAT ABOUT RIN?!' he roared as I shook my head._

'_leave her for now, shes a medic nin as along as she co-operates they wont hurt her. More importantly we cannot allow the enemy to figure out our mission if they know our mission will become all but impossible to complete.' I said calmly as Obito glared at me._

'_But you're not thinking about Rin's safety! If those guys were just unthinking flunkies what would happen?!' he exclaimed as I glared at him. 'Rin is more important than the mission! We have to rescue her!' he exclaimed as I turned around to continue walking._

'_sometimes as a ninja it is essential for us to sacrifice our companions. It's the LAW. If we fail the war will continue and there will be many MORE sacrifices.' I stated as Obito growled. I was getting annoyed at this kid, couldn't he just listen to reason?_

'_That's just speculation! So for some stupid Law you'd throw away a compainion that's been through thick and thin with you? A person who saved our lives countless times when we were injured? Without her you and I would be dead ten times over!' Obito exclaimed as I looked over my shoulder at him._

'_That was Rin's duty' I stated as Obito punched me. HARD. I hit the ground and rubbed my cheek. _

'_I cant stand you.' He hissed ass I stood up. I would not hit him._

'_That doesn't matter I am still your commander. You have to follow my instructions and Obito you don't have any strength that is why I am team leader.' I stated getting to my feet as Obito's face went bright red._

'_If that the case then why do you REFUSE to help Rin? Only you have the strength to save your companion!' he grabbed the front of my shirt and shook me as I glared at him._

'_If you let emotions get the best of you you'll regret it in the future. Because of that the rule was decided that shinobi must never show their emotions, you must understand that.' I stated thinking about my father and all of the glares and whispers that had followed him and me. Obito glared at me. 'The most important thing is that a shinobi is a tool to be used to complete a mission. Emotions are unnecessary things.' I said as Obito looked at me with something akin to great sadness in his eyes._

'_are you serious?' he looked at me as If I had just told him I was suicidal. 'do you seriously think like that?' he shook his head._

'_yes… I do' I answered as Obito shook his head and shoved me away._

'_Fine then from the beginning you and I were like water and oil, I'm going to save Rin.' He started off in the opposite direction as memories of my father, kakashi's father, flashed through my mind._

'_You don't understand anything! What happens to those who don't follow the rules-'I stated as Obito didn't turnaround to look at me._

'_I believe the great white fang of Konoha was a true hero' he stated as the world seemed to freeze. 'Of course those in our world who break rules are regarded as trash abut those who forget about their friends are even worse trash. Anyway if I'm that type of trash I'll break the rules. If that's not being a true shinobi then fuck that idea of a shinobi' Obito said before he walked away. I let him go, I was not going to throw everything away I had worked so hard to get as I headed for the bridge. But Obito's words nagged at me, tugged at something I suppressed since father had died. I landed on a branch as my arm gave a shooting pain that made me drop to my knees. Dammit I had reopened the wound as Rin's smiling face came into my minds eyes. I cursed myself as I headed back the way Obito had gone. What he said replayed over and over as I caught a hold of his chakra signal as well as Rin's and the two lackeys that had kidnapped her._

_I hoped Obito wouldn't do anything stupid. He shifted in the tree as all attention shifted to where he was hiding. DAMMIT Obito! I cursed as the ninja disappeared I moved in one second I jumped slashing the enemy ninja in the throat with a kunai as he dropped like a stone. I hadn't mortally wounded him as he jumped to his feet._

'_Konoha's white fang!' the guy exclaimed as I shook my head._

'_These are merely a memento of my father.' I stated as the man laughed._

'_Ah so you're his brat. No problems then.' He said as he disappeared. I sniffed the air, all traced of his scent had been erased as I tried to track him by air currents. There was a tap as I jumped._

'_BEHIND YOU MOVE!' I shouted pushing Obito out of the way as the kunai sliced my left eye. The pain was unbelievable as I noticed I couldn't open my eye. Oh dear god the pain._

'_kakashi!' Obito sat me up as I quelled the bleeding with my sleeve. My face must be a bloody mess as I tired to track the scent of my blood on the kunai but the ninja had already gotten rid of it. 'Oh man are you alright?' he asked as I nodded._

'_This guy is good he;s already gotten rid of the kunai with my blood on it.' I noticed Obito was crying as I put my hand on his shoulder. 'Dirt in your eye again? dont worry I'm not dead yet' I said getting to my feet. 'don't let your guard down' I told him as I set to tracking the ninja. Obito's eyes flashed as suddenly I was staring into familiar sharingan eyes as Obito pulled a kunai and turned to face the translucent opponent. In a single swipe the ninja was dead as I breathed a sigh of relief._

'_Obito! You- you did it!' I congratualed him as he grinned. _

'_yea turns out the sharingan can see chakra flow.' He said as I tired to open my left eye. Sharp shooting pain stabbed at it as I cursed and held my hand over it._

'_hey are you alright?' Obito asked as I nodded._

'_yea but it seems like my left eye is completely useless now.' I said as Obito grabbed Rin's medical kit she had given me and bandaged my eye. Then we set out to save her. We found the bastard with her against a rock wall as he turned to see us and sighed._

'_Is everyone completely useless?' he grumbled he flew at us as we both attacked. We dodged the shuriken he threw as I noticed Obito saw something at the last second as he kicked the man's arms out from the direction he was trying to grab me. I saw a flash of steel as I grabbed my katana and sliced through his shoulder. _

_We jumped over his fallen body and I released Rin from the genjutsu she was under. Immediately she smiled up as us as I felt immediately better. _

'_we came to save you Rin its alright now!' Obito grinned as I heard the man get up from where he fell. Why wasn't he dead from blood loss?_

'_Now I have you where I want you!' he chuckled evilly I felt my blood run cold as he made six hand signals. Immediately the cliff started breaking apart._

'_RUN!' I roared as we tore off something hit me in the head on my left side as I realized where my blind spot was. DAMN! I tripped and hit the ground. _

'_KAKASHI!' Rin screamed as I attempted to get up. Someone threw me as the resounding Boom of fallen rocks echoed around the small clearing. I blacked out for a few seconds as Rin's face came into view. I looked for Obito._

'_Rin, Kakashi' came a weak reply as I saw Obito and nearly cried. The right side of his body was crushed by a massive boulder. There was no chance we could save him or that he would last more than an hour even if we could. _

'_Kakashi' his voice was weak as we managed to get over to him. I tried to move the boulder but there was not a chance I could move it._

'_DAMMIT if I had only gone with you in the first place this would've never happened!' I cursed as Obito sighed. 'What kind of commander am i?' I sighed as Obito interrupted me._

'_hey, no, forget it. I'm the only one who didn't give you a present for becoming a jounin right? I kept thinking what would be a good gift? And now I know, something that wouldn't be extra baggage. Take my sharingan. The people in the village are right, you are a great jounin that is how I feel. Please Kakashi, accept it.' He sighed as I felt like a small part of me had died inside. I didn't want Obito to go, so soon after we had become friends. Rin sobbed as Obito looked at her. 'Rin, use your medical jutsu to implant my sharingan in Kakashi's left eye. I know I'm already going to die. But if you have my eye at least I can see the future.' He said and in the moment I made the decision to accept Obito's gift. The pain was immense as Rin opened my eye took out my damaged one and replaced it with Obito's sharingan. The world immediately burst into bright colours and chakra signals became incredibly apparent. It was disorientating as I knew I had to destroy the last ninja. I jumped from the boulder pile as he started laughing._

'_Geeze you leaf shinobi just don't die do you?' he laughed as I glared at him. He ran at me as I blocked with my sword before electrocuting him with chidori. I landed on the lip of the little rock shelf as Rin gasped._

'_Come on Rin we don't have much time.' I said as Obito sighed._

'_Take Rin, hurry. Keep her safe Kakashi. Hurry the reinforcements are probably on their way here. Go!' Obito panted as I heard their reinforcements land behind me._

'_Come on RIN!' I shouted as I heard the rocks shift. They were causing another landslide. 'RIN!' I yelled as her hand grabbed mine._

'_Obito!' she screamed as I transported the both of us away from the carnage of Obito's body being crushed under the slide of boulders and dirt. We landed on a tree branch as Rin was sobbing. I saw the enemy ninja coming up after us as I quickly made chidori._

'_Rin run while I hold these guys off. I'll look after you for Obito.. because of that I'll protect you even if I die.' I muttered waiting for the attack._

'_Kakashi..' she gasped as I sighed and held sensei's kunai tighter._

'_Rin Obito liked you… loved you, you were important to him. Because of that I'll protect you until I die.' I said as I heard her draw in a breath. _

'_Kakashi, then my feelings-' I interrupted her. For her to say she had never seen Obito that way would probably crush me as the enemy chose that moment to attack._

'_RUN RIN!' I roared and threw chidori as well as the Kunai as the world exploded into a ball of blue and white._

'Obito!!!!!!!!!' I screamed as I hit the floor. My head smashed off of my night side table as stars spun around my eyes. OW!!!!!!!! I hand managed to hit my left eye as I held it I heard footsteps running to my room. The door was thrown open as Sasuke stood holding a kunai only wearing a pair of blue boxers with his hair a mess as Sakura appeared beside him in a tank top and pink kitten boxers holding a massive shuriken.

I sat up as Nori looked at me and hissed a laugh. I knew I was going to have a black eye from the pain around it.

'Is everything alright?' Sasuke asked as I looked around still slightly disorientated. The dream had been so vivid so real it was crazy. I looked around taking note that I was in fact in my bedroom as something hot rolled down my cheek. I touched my damaged eye as red came away smeared on my fingers. I was bleeding?

'Oh Yuki-chan your eye! What happened?' Sakura rushed into the room as I was still kind of stunned. The dream I realized hadn't been a dream but a memory, one of Kakashi's memories that were still floating around my mind from our little mind check at the hospital. I shook my head as Sakura's hands touched my eye. A familiar sharp pain made me jump as she immediately let go.

'That was a fairly good whack' Sasuke stated coming to kneel on the floor beside me. He produced a mirror and showed me as I noticed the black bruise starting to form as well as the cut above my eye where the corner of the table had hit me. Weird considering my dream/memory as Sakura gently touched the bruise. I let her heal the cut but left the bruise as my mind took a sharp left turn in thinking as the previous evening with Katrina floated forward. I wondered why Kakashi looked like someone was stabbing him while he was dragging information out of Katrina.

Pain laced up my face as Sakura poked my eye.

'OW! That hurts you know!' I snapped as Sakura gave me a dark look.

'Did you hear anything that Sasuke said?' she asked as I shook my head. She sighed as Sasuke looked rather irritated.

'I said we only have about an hour before we're supposed to get up to meet Kakashi-sensei before we leave. We might as well get ready to leave.' He said as I nodded and Sakura finished healing my eye. 'I'll go wake the moron' Sasuke said Sakura followed him out of the room. I untangled myself from my blankets as I reviewed what had happened in my dream. Obito, he was obviously someone very important to Kakashi, now he was dead. Rin, he vowed to protect because Obito loved her. Was she still alive? Or what had happened to her? Now I knew how Kakashi had obtained the sharingan. It must be horrible being reminded of his best friend's death every time he had to use the sharingan. His sensei I assumed he was dead as well because I had had a strong feeling of sorrow whenever I saw the blonde man. Kakashi really was a mystery. How he hadn't gone insane yet from dealing with all of his sorrow and loss was amazing. But why did that memory surface instead of another?

Kakashi…

I realized I probably knew more about the man than anyone else in this entire village. I had his memories, but then again he had mine. I wondered what he had seen of the memories I had given him. He had probably seen the day Yuuto and Akio died. He had probably also seen my academy days of being teased and pushed around. He probably knew how lonely I was, even surrounded with people and constantly on missions I really was alone in my suffering. So alone after Yuuto's premature departure from this world…

Kakashi I realized was also alone, even more than I was. He had no family alive, he very rarely interacted with any of the jounins other then getting piss faced with Asuma and Kurenai or Genma in between disappearing for long periods of time to god knew where. I had never seen him in the company of another being other than myself or at the house when I was there. It was odd, I tired to conjure another one of Kakashi memories but all I managed to get was fragments of my dream as m eye hurt from squeezing it closed.

For some reason Kakashi's memories wouldn't come to me when I called them. They only seemed to show up when it was least expected. I sighed and got off of the floor. My shorts were twisted as was my shirt as I fixed myself and stood by my window. My curtains fluttered as a small winter breeze blew in. It was cold but not overly so like the mountains as it carried a damp smell that reminded me of the forests that surrounded Konoha.

I hoped Kakashi knew how dangerous it was for him to be with me, or around me in general. I was a Rin assassin, everyone wanted us dead for how skilled we were no matter who we worked for. I was a danger to him, one way for someone to control me if I allowed myself to get close to him. Our lives were in constant danger I realized as I threw caution to the wind. I knew I had come to love the copy ninja, even with his weird porn fetish and round about answers. But sadly, my life was more in danger than Kakashi seemed to think after the random attack on the village by those strange cloaked men who had taken an interest in me.

But then again Kakashi was the great copy ninja. He probably had a half decent bounty on his own head for his own talents. I had never seen Kakashi inaction but I assumed he was good. Even though his last mission probably wasn't one of his best, in my opinion he didn't seem as fierce as everyone said he was. I wondered what Kakashi thought about our relationship and where we were going to take this. As I thought of how people probably thought he was a complete psycho because of his loner tendencies and stunning track record. But then again he wasn't my sensei and I could hold my own against some of the greatest ninja in recorded history.

Sensei…

Oh how I missed that man. He was like my father that I never had and I would be damned if I couldn't track him down. Which reminded me, I should've been spending more time in Konoha's library researching and finding clues to sensei's whereabouts. Not to mention finish all that paperwork that was currently sitting on Kakashi's kitchen table instead of training with Naruto and his friends.

There was a knock at my door as a bleary eyed Naruto stumbled in and promptly fell on my bed emitting a loud snore. I laughed before rousing the teen. He obviously wasn't a morning person as I managed to get him back to his own room and through his mission clothing at him. Naruto definitely did not do mornings as I stole the bathroom from Sakura. She was rightfully outraged as I laughed and jumped in the shower as she hammered on the door claiming her hair was a mess and she needed to pee.

I was nice and allowed her to have the bathroom only to find Sasuke steal it from her as she stormed downstairs to pee as I gave another try at attempting to get Naruto out of bed. This kid just didn't budge it seemed as I got dressed in my mission clothing, helped Nori dress because she didn't have opposable thumbs to do up her coat, I hid more weapons on my person than anyone would've thought possible as I also filled my pack with weapons, food, clothing, and documents that one would think a Rin ambassador would be carrying as I headed downstairs for some breakfast. I tried once again to get Naruto up before I grabbed a pitcher of cold water from the fridge and dumped it on him.

'AH WHAT THE HELL?!' Naruto yelled jumping up as I grinned at him. He growled and gave chase as I booked it downstairs. I laughed as I noticed Kakashi was having coffee in the kitchen with an irritated Sakura as I ran into the kitchen with Naruto hot on my tail. At the last second I reached out and threw open the freezer door across the doorway. Naruto didn't have enough purchase on the hardwood in his socks as he backpedaled before clotheslineing himself with the freezer door. He fell to the floor as I laughed and gave the victory symbol as Sakura put a plate of toast into my hand.

'Thanks' I stated and sat on the bar. Kakashi had finished his cup of coffee and toast it seemed as I munched on mine. Sasuke came downstairs dressed and ready to go as Sakura handed him more toast that she seemed to continue making idly while putting on make up.

'So when did you get here Kakashi-kun?' I asked as the tall jounin didn't immediately reply.

'A while ago.' He stated as I stole a swig from his coffee cup and nearly gagged. Black coffee, ewwwwwwww, the drink should at least have sugar in it. I nodded, I was getting accustomed to his round about answers.

Naruto got off of the floor and accepted the toast Sakura handed him as she went and stole the bathroom for herself. No one would get that bathroom for at least the next half hour if Sakura had her way. Nori came downstairs as I filled a bowl with kibble for her. She gave me a degrading look but she ate the food anyway.

'You can hunt while we travel' I said as the cat flicked her tail in mild annoyance at my dismissing tone. Kakashi seemed more distant than usual as I raised an eyebrow at him almost like I had seen something he never wanted to show anyone. He stood and pulled out his erotic novel as I noticed the picture of the two scantily clad girls kissing before he turned it toward himself. I stifled my disgust as he headed for the door.

'Hey Kakashi-sensei where are you going?' Naruto asked as the tall man didn't answer but disappeared in a puff of smoke. Kakashi seemed to be getting weirder and weirder as time passed. One minute it seemed like he was interested in me the next he was distant, aloof and almost cold. What was it with this guy? I sighed, I knew where he probably was before we were going to leave on the mission. We had about an hour before we were supposed to meet. Kakashi probably wanted some alone time before we headed out so I decided to see if Kurenai wanted to hang out for an hour. I really didn't have a great deal of friends other than the teens and I should've tried to make friends with the other jounin and some chounin in the area. It would be better for everyone to see I'm not some freaky stalker or something like that that people had conjured up to scare kids.

'I'll meet you guys at the main gate' I stated as Nori jumped on my shoulder. Naruto offered to take my pack to the meeting place as I thanked him and headed out onto the streets. I decided to head off by roof top as I realized I had no idea where anyone lived in this town other than Kakashi and Hinata. I stopped on the roof of an apartment complex as I saw Kurenai on a rooftop not too far from where I had stopped. It seemed luck was on my side as I called out to the pretty jounin.

'Kurenai-san!' I waved as she turned a little surprised as I noticed something about her. Had she gained weight? It looked like she had from the side as my mind clicked. I jumped over.

'Good morning Yukiko-san how are you?' she asked as I gave her a smile.

'Eh I've been better.' I pointed to my eye as she looked at it.

'How did that happen?' she asked as I laughed.

'Fell out of bed after having a nightmare' I said as we both laughed.

'Of course, I thought Kakashi-san might've given it to you while you were training' she giggled as I shook my head.

'no, no Kakashi-kun and I don't train together. I just run into him randomly around town it seems. Have you had breakfast?' I asked as she shook her head. 'How about we go get some?' I asked as she smiled.

'That sounds wonderful. Where were you thinking of going?' she asked as I shrugged.

'I don't know many places, is there anywhere that has waffles?' I asked as Kurenai nodded. We used the rooftop express as she led me to a small bakery that boasted about international cuisine. 'So who were you waiting for on the roof top?' I asked as we were seated in a small booth near the back. Kurenai shrugged and ordered chocolate chip pancakes. I ordered blueberry waffles as she sighed.

'What's up?' I asked as Kurenai looked at me with distress written on her features.

'Yukiko-san I know that we aren't friends really. But, I think we could become friends if we wanted but I think because you're so out of the silly little politics that run in the circles of the people here I think I can tell you.' She said as now I was curious.

'You can trust me Kurenai-san I mean I'm not the best at problem solving but I might be able to help in some small way' I stated as the waitress returned with our drinks as I took a gulp of ice water. Kurenai ignored hers as she played with her knife drawing little designs. I could see why she wouldn't have many friends, she was so beautiful that anyone would probably be insanely jealous if they were female and around her. I hadn't met many kunoichi but the few I had met I knew they'd talk between one another.

'Well, here it goes. Personally I don't know what to do, I cant hide it anymore and I don't know how to say it really but…' she trailed off as I leant toward her. 'I'm pregnant' she muttered much to low for anyone other than a ninja could hear. I froze, my suspicion had been correct as I looked at the red eyed, raven haired beauty.

'who?' I asked as she leant in again, tears apparent in her eyes.

'Asuma-chan' she said as I blinked the cigarette smoking jounin entering my minds eye. Well damn. 'And I don't know how to tell him. I'm at my end's rope. I was trying to find Tsume and Anko this morning but Tsume was busy at home and Anko was already out. Sakura was leaving on a mission with you and Temari and Ino are busy with official international business.' Kurenai sighed and put her head on the table as the bell over the door jingled. I looked at see Tsume and a violet haired lady walk in. I waved to Tsume as the duo came over. They saw Kurenai near tears and immediately took a seat.

'What's wrong?' Anko I assumed asked as Tsume rubbed Kurenai's shoulder.

'We have a bit of a dilemma.' I whispered so low that I knew only they could hear. 'but it turns out that Kurenai-san is pregnant' I stated at the other two women looked shocked before a smile came over Tsume's wild appearance.

'Asuma-san's?' Anko asked as Kurenai gave a miserable nod. Tsume hugged the young woman as the waitress came over and delivered my waffles and Kurenai's pancakes. The other two women refused anything as I munched on my food.

'How am I going to tell him?' she muttered as Anko stole some of my waffles. I raised an eyebrow as she grinned at me and attempted to steal more as I moved my plate and she missed.

'You could always be very frank and just say it outright' Anko said as Kurenai looked even more miserable at the idea.

'well it is fairly obvious you could just give him hints' I said as Tsume nodded. Kurenai perked up a little.

'What kinds of hints?' Kurenai asked as I shrugged.

'I dunno make a supper with foods that have baby in the name. baby potatoes, baby corn, baby spinach. You know things like that' I said as the other kunoichi looked at me like I had just told them that pigs could fly and Naruto was a genius.

'That's an excellent plan!' Anko agreed as Kurenai dug into her pancakes. Anko stole another bite from my waffles as I froze her fork to the table. She glared at me as I grinned. I looked at the clock above the door and noticed I had ten minutes before I was supposed to meet everyone at the main gate before we left.

'Well guy I have to go. I'll be back in about a week. See you then!' I said as I put money on the table for both my waffles and Kurenai's pancakes as Anko's teasing voice followed me outside.

'Say hi to Kakashi-kun for me Yukiko-chan!' she teased as I gave a very Kakashi like wave before jumping onto the roof of the nearest building. I wondered why everyone was so obsessed with me and Kakashi. Had the man never shown any preference to a girl before? I knew Cho but how long had the two of them been together? Maybe everyone thought Kakashi was gay and I was a new toy to keep himself in denial? No that didn't make sense in the slightest. I landed as my foot made contact with an explosive note. I did a back flip to evade the flames and parts of wood that flew through the air at me as I landed in a small clearing.

'What ho! It seems this beautiful day has given us a glimpse of amazing talent that is miss Yukiko-san!' Gai's voice exclaimed as the green unitard wearing man appearaed beside me. I blinked momentarily blinded by his brilliant white teeth. Did the man brush with bleach or something?

'Yukiko-san!' came TenTen's excited voice as I looked at his three students. Lee had his foot caught by Neji who looked like he wanted to kill himself as TenTen sat in the tree like a crazed squirrel. This was one weird team that was for sure.

'I was just heading to meet Kakashi-san and the others!' I smiled as Gai gave me a grin that blinded a near by bird and made it crash into the trunk of a tree. Poor bird. I looked at Neji who looked like he was contemplating about running into a tree too as Gai clapped me on the shoulder.

'And why are you going to meet my cool and hip rival you budding flower of glorious youth? Are you not aware that Kakashi is as unemotional as a stone? Why would you go willingly to someone so cold?' Gai asked as I looked at Neji who was currently beating himself in the head with a tree branch. Was that normal? Lee looked at his teammate in concern before ignoring the Hyuuga and paying more attention to me and his sensei.

'Uh, I didn't find Kakashi to be cold and removed. He's just misunderstood, actually Gai-san you know Kakashi better than anyone do you know anything about his past?' I asked as Gai's chest swelled.

'Of course I know about Kakashi's past, but alas I am more of a friend than a rival to Kakashi so I will not tell you unless you can best me in a game.' He stated as he grinned at me. I looked away to see a squirrel run off a tree branch and be blinded by the smile and smash into a lower tree branch. Poor creature this man really was creepy. Was he a phedophile? I hoped not as neji was now rhythmically beating him head off of a nearby tree attempting to knock himself unconscious.

'Well what game do you wish to play Gai-san?' I asked. I knew I was going to be late but whatever. Any information on why Kakashi was an emotional roller coaster that left me behind in the dust was totally worth it.

'rock, paper, scissors. It is the most youthful game to settle disputes between anyone. ' he stated as I nodded. 'One, two, three!' he exclaimed as I threw down my hand into paper. His hand was clenched in a fist. Rock. Excellent.

'I WON!' I cheered throwing my arms up. I knew I would win, I was faster than Gai and if necessary I would've cheated as Gai laughed.

'Youth smiles on you today Yukiko-san I shall tell you whatever you need to know!' he exclaimed as I got straight to the point.

'Ok Gai-san, I know Kakashi-kun has had a great deal of death in his past but can you tell me why he never seems interested in women and when he is why does he change his attitudes so suddenly?' I asked as Gai grinned like a maniac.

'Ah yukiko-san I had no idea you were so interested in my rival. A little crush perhaps? Oh the days of youth are so wonderful! Now I shall answer your question. Kakashi has never had a great deal of women in his life. The poor, poor man, surrounded by other men all of his life! He never enjoyed the wonderful youthful exploits many teenage boys had!' he stopped to breathe a he gripped my hands. This guy was CREEPY, and what Kakashi grew up without a female figure? No mother? Hm... odd.

'So Kakashi-kun never had a mother?' I asked as gai shook his head.

'No fair Yukiko-san kakashi's mother died giving him his life. It was the beginning of the boy's tragic cycle of death that followed him. Now back to Kakashi, the main reason he is so estranged from women…' gai leant toward me as he whispered to me. 'he's afraid of getting people around him hurt.' My eyes widened as everything made sense as Gai's vocal level changed dramatically causing me to slap my hands over my ears. 'AND THAT MY LOTUS OF EVERLAST BEAUTY IS KAKASHI'S SECRET!' he stated as everyone clapped their hands over their ears and TenTen even fell out of her tree branch as Lee grinned.

'thank you Gai-san but I am late for a mission with Naruto and Sasuke I shall talk more with you when I return!' I smiled as the bushy browed man gave me a thumbs up as I stepped around him and headed towards the gate passing a blissfully unconscious Neji as I turned and ran for the main gate.


	13. Into the snake's lair

So that was it, Kakashi was afraid of people getting hurt around him that was why one minute he couldn't seem to keep his hands off of me and the next he was pulling himself so far away I barely recognized his eyes smiles and his chocolate eyes became like flint. It was slowly starting to piece together as I saw the others standing in their robes waiting for me. Sasuke was tapping his foot as Sakura was cleaning her nails looking distinctly bored even with their face masks.

I ran up and slid to a stop spraying Naruto with sand and dirt as I panted and grinned at all of them.

'You're late!' Naruto spat before he shook the dirt off of himself. Kakashi put down his Make out paradise novel and looked at me.

'Yes I know, I ran into some information on the way over here. Sorry about that guys.' I apologized as Sasuke tossed my pack and cloak to me. I put them on as we left the main gates and disappeared into the trees. I noticed a black haired young man with ghostly pale skin with us as Sakura chatted to his as we flew through the trees. He had adjusted his uniform so that it showed off his completely flat stomach as I turned to Kakashi who was steadily running beside me.

'Eh Kakashi, who's the pale kid?' I asked as he glanced back at Sai.

'That is Sai he was on our team while Sasuke was still with Orochimaru. He's from ROOT; it's a section of ANBU that focuses strictly on the ninja rules. He doesn't have a very wide range of emotions.' Kakashi concluded as I looked at the rather stiff looking young man. It took all types I guessed as Kakashi called us to a halt. We used our transformation jutsus as I noticed all of them had left their Konoha forehead protectors back at the village and now wore Rin forehead protectors. I had placed mine around my neck as was expected for an ambassador. It was rude to wear it anywhere else by our customs as we headed for Sound country.

We had been running for a few hours when Kakashi dropped back to talk with me.

'So what was this information you ran into?' Kakashi asked his appearance was rather unsettling with his voice still the same it was just strange as I sighed. Should I tell him about Gai, no that would be bad but then again the information about Kurenai would be a perfect excuse to cover the real information I had gained on him.

'Hm… I'm not sure I should be telling a male jounin about this information.' I said as Kakashi gave me a surprised look before I could see something click in his mind. I was getting good at reading this man as his voice dropped.

'Kurenai-san's pregnant isn't she?' he stated as I lost my footing in the branch and fell a few feet before I caught myself and swung around the branch launching myself back up to where the others were jumping.

'You're good.' I said as he shrugged. 'How did you know?' I asked as he looked back at me.

'I saw her the other day; she cannot hide it anymore the baby is definitely growing rapidly. I assume she hasn't told Asuma-san' Kakashi stated as I nodded. He sighed deeply.

'The kunoichi are helping her with a plan to tell him. How do you think he will react?' I asked as Kakashi gave an amused chuckle.

'Oh Asuma-san already knows about Kurenai-san, he was just waiting until she was going to tell him. A bunch of the male jounin have a bet as to how she's going to do it.' He stated as my jaw dropped. They made a bet? How ignorant could they be?

'That's so… so… juvenile!' I snapped as Kakashi held up his hands to try to calm me.

'Hey, I didn't make a bet. Poor Kurenai-san is going to have enough problems if Asuma-san doesn't marry her soon. Besides we should focus on our mission not on possible weddings back home.' He stated as I sighed.

'Evasive-change-of-topic- no-jutsu strikes again!' I huffed as he gave me a wink.

'It's a very effective jutsu when talking to intelligent women' he stated before taking the lead of our group once again. Ass. The distance we covered in our day of running brought us close to the border. It would take at least another day to reach sound and get to the capital, the ball was the day after that where I would have to talk with the snake man. I was there to decline Orochimaru's invite proclaiming that we wanted no association with any of the countries on the eastern side of our mountain range. It would take a great deal of smooth talking and feminine whiles on my behalf as I rested against Nori.

The firelight was soothing as Sasuke rotated a spit of fish he and Naruto had caught earlier before the sun dipped below the horizon.

'Hey Sasu, tell me about Orochimaru and his mannerisms. Kouga must have debriefed you before we left on this ridiculous march halfway across the world.' I muttered as Sasuke's eyes looked at me through the darkness.

'Orochimaru, from what I've been told is a cruel man. He loves blood and carnage, destruction and chaos is what he feeds off of. He is immortal, has a strong and strange affinity for snakes. He's incredibly strong, it is said he once was part of the fabled Akatsuki but is now working on his own. Our information dictates that he resides in Sound but other than that there isn't much information on him.' Sasuke muttered as Kakashi strode over to me.

'It is said he trained a young boy named Sasuke Uchiha as he predecessor. Now the boy has returned to his village after learning all of Orochimaru's secrets. There is another that is said to be with orochimaru at all times. A man called Kabuto; he's a medic ninja and is kept with Orochimaru at all times because his arms are useless thanks to the third hokage of Konoha.' Kakashi stated as I gave a nod. For anyone who might've been spying on us it would look exactly like anyone would predict. A bunch of shinobi protecting an ambassador and informing her about who she will be talking to in a few days time.

'Uchiha eh? Wasn't there a shinobi in Konoha from Rin that claims they're an Uchiha?' I asked as everyone gave me a surprised look.

'Well yes. They have a direct lineage from the mother of the Uchiha clan.' Sakura said as I nodded.

'Strange how the one who was next in line to be Yuki-kage turns out to be an Uchiha. I guess the rumours are true there really is no stopping that clan.' I stated as Sasuke looked quite angry at me before he gave the fish another turn.

'Ever interesting assessment ambassador-sama.' Sakura said as we all settled down for the night. It was quite late when Kakashi woke me for my turn of watch.

'Thanks Kakashi-kun' I said before jumping into the tree branch above and watching and listening for anything that was out of the ordinary. The tall jounin did not go to sleep though as I expected him to instead he leant against the base of the tree I was sitting in. 'You should get some sleep Kakashi-kun' I stated as I heard a sigh from the man. What was wrong with him?

'I saw you with Gai-san today' he stated as I froze. Oh shit had he heard what I was asking Gai. DAMMIT! I froze wanting to bash my head off of the tree behind me as I heard him shift , I was so stupid of course Kakashi would come looking for me if I was late. I was prone to accidents so of course he would be worried if I didn't show up.

'Yes?' I asked as I heard him walk around to the other side of the tree. Naruto gave a snore as Sakura rolled over in her sleeping bag. I had a feeling Sasuke was not asleep and was probably listening as I waited for Kakashi to speak first.

'Yukiko-chan.' He jumped into the tree so we both were sitting on the same branch. He looked so strange as he dropped his jutsu so I was looking at the normal Kakashi. I dropped mine too as his eye once again reminded me of chocolate before it became flinty in an instant. 'I really don't know how to phrase this so I'm just going to say it. I'm perfectly fine with you choosing Gai-san over me.' He bit out as I froze. Did he say what I just thought he said?

'Rewind that and play it back again please I thought I heard something crazy fly out of your mouth.' I said as Kakashi gave me a disbelieving look.

'I'm serious Yukiko-chan if you prefer Gai-san over me I'm alright with it.' He bit out attempting to sound nonchalant as I cuffed him. He blinked owlishly at me as I shook my head.

'You really are stupid. I went to talk to Gai about you, you silly boy' I laughed as he looked surprised.

'What did you ask him about?' Kakashi asked as I shrugged.

'That is a secret.' I stated as Kakashi raised an elegant eyebrow.

'There are never secrets in a team, especially from the commander.' Kakashi stated as I gave him a sly grin.

'Maybe not but I'm not part of your team, and you're not my commander. I'm your girlfriend and I can keep secrets if I deem them necessary.' I stated as Kakashi opened him mouth to respond as I did a quick sweep. Nothing was out of the ordinary as I jumped Kakashi. I know it wasn't appropriate to be making out with Kakashi on a mission, let alone a tree while I was on look-out duty. But hey I had needs as did he and Sasuke could pay attention while I was busy.

'Kakashi, the suns coming up.' I stated as he nibbled on my earlobe electing a small giggle from me as I tried to pull away. I was resting against his chest as he sat with his back against the tree's trunk.

'So it is.' He stated as I saw Sasuke stir. Kakashi kissed his way down my neck to where my collar bone met my neck and scraped his teeth along it. Damn this man and his effective ways!

'We have to get moving and Sasuke will castrate you if he sees what you're doing to me.' I whispered as Sakura stirred this time hitting Naruto in her sleep.

'That is true enough.' He chuckled kissing my jaw line and giving me one last hug before standing on the branch we were on. Kakashi was truly an amazing man. Quiet and subtle but at the drop of a hat could become as fierce and passionate as Naruto when it came to ramen. I sighed; he was so silly too thinking I wanted Gai. I shuddered at the memory of his teeth and wondered if Neji was going to be alright from smashing himself in the head so many times.

'OW! NARUTO YOU IDIOT!' Sakura roared as I sighed looking over as Naruto was now wearing the cooking pot on his head as he ran around camp trying to get it off as Sakura chased him with a ladle. Oh team 7, you never cease to amaze me as Sasuke grabbed the pot off of Naruto's head and Sai caught Sakura's flying ladle before it did permanent damage to anyone. Kakashi was calmly reading his book as he tossed a package of what looked like granola bars as Sakura as she divvied out the rations.

'Hey Yukiko-san' Sakura called as she tossed me a rations bar. Mmmm nutrition at its finest as I bit into the bland power bar that was going to have to suffice as my breakfast so much for the rich life of a kunoichi. Before long camp was packed up and we were heading for sound. Why anyone in their right mind would head to this dismal little country was being me. Before long fire country's beautiful trees thinned and the rain started. Next we were crossing thick marshes and bogs that threatened to eat your boots if you didn't pay attention to where you stepped.

'Oh yuck' I muttered as I noticed a small rodent get eaten by a carnivorous plant in one snap. 'Well this place just invites me to make a summer home and come here every year.' I said sarcastically as I leapt over a large swamp hole. It was warm here weirdly enough, the snow had seemingly melted when the trees had thinned out and had been replaced by this sulphur smelling grey clouds and drizzle that had yet to let up.

'How much further Kasu?' I snapped as Kakashi looked at a map.

'Well after we pass this marsh there should be a road the heads straight to the main village. I estimate another hour or so ambassador-sama.' He stated fulfilling the role completely as Nori glared at the filthy water that was everywhere.

'Why does this part of the world have to much water?' she asked to no one in particular as I shrugged and jumped onto a dry road the seemed to cut through the dreary marsh as I swear I saw a snake the size of a bus slither by.

'I. Hate. Snakes.' I whispered as Kakashi saw the movement. Now I wasn't paranoid about the great dirty monsters but after nearly dying from getting bitten I had to admit I was not overly fond of the reptiles.

'Then you'll _Love _Orochimaru' Sasuke muttered sarcastically as I fixed the young man posing as my guard with a glare.

'I'm sure we'll get along flawlessly' I stated as Sasuke shrugged and adjusted his pack. He seemed on high alert as we walked down the road. We passed out of the marsh and onto drier ground. Actually it was more like a wasteland as dry cracked soil stretched forever, ghostly husks of trees stood between huge craggy black obelisks of slate stood as massive sentinels as we passed between them.

'I don't like this place, it reeks of evil' Nori muttered as she transformed into her large form. Personally I agreed with her as the craggy formations gave way to an enormous mountain made of the same slate.

'This would be sound's main village' Kakashi said looking up at the enormous black pillars. A large music note was carved about seemingly flawless black rock as I noticed someone was standing on a little walkway. There was the noise of something like a broken trumpet before the gates creaked open just enough to let us file though.

To say I felt trapped was an understatement. I looked around at the gloomy homes that looked like they had been slapped together and the only things holding them together was sheer will power of the people who lived there. We walked up one of the mazes of streets as people turned to stare at us. I guess it wasn't common for shinobi from other countries to come into sound.

'State you business!' a voice snapped as I looked down to see the shortest kid in the history of children.

'Um… how old are you?' I asked as the kid glared at me from under all of his bandages.

'That is irrelevant, what is your business!' he snapped as I gave him an irritated glance.

'This is the ambassador from the assassin village of Ice. I suggest you tell your leader that we have arrived.' Sasuke spoke coldly as the kid's eyes widened.

'Yes right this way!' he scampered a head of us as we followed along the cracked cement. People seemed happy here strangely enough as they lurked in door ways and around corners as we passed. Purple seemed to be a popular colour as the bright silver of our clothes made many start to whisper. We followed the kid to a building that more so resembled a military command post than the village leader, cough Orochimaru cough, would have lived in. Once again seamless doors were opened and we were ushered in. The place was freaky as the walls seemed to be etched in never ending circles as the floor had a tiled almost snake skin scaled pattern. Solid steel beams supported the roof as bowl torches stood at random intervals.

'I don't like this, it feels wrong' I whispered to Kakashi as his hand gently brushed mine. I knew he felt the same way as three long shadows came down the corridor. I tried to relax as Nori's fur bristled. I placed a hand on her head as I noticed she had extended her claws as they made an ominous clicking noise on the smooth stone as we walking.

As soon as the shadows became people I had to fight the instinct to throw a chakra control device and run like hell. Orochimaru stood flanked by a silver haired man wearing glasses and the black haired man from before.

'Ah yes, ambassador welcome!' he hissed as I gave a slight bow. My entourage gave full bows as much as I knew they detested it. I took a few more steps closer to the men I seriously wanted to flee from. As Orochimaru gestured to the silver haired man as he took a step forward and gently raised my hand so that Orochimaru could kiss my hand. Wait a second, his arms didn't work? Then who had I slapped that chakra control device on that time in the woods?

'Its so good that you made it all the way here from Ice. It must have been a long journey and I'm sure you are wishing for a rest. We can discuss politics later. Kabuto will show you to your quarters. If you please' he hissed charmingly as the large black haired man regarded me as If he was searching for something familiar. I gave him a friendly smile and a nod as we passed as I resisted the urge to shiver as my skin crawled from the feeling of his eyes on me before we turned the corner.

These were dangerous shinobi. One misstep and I was toast!

Luckily Kabuto showed us that are rooms were close to the main entry way.

'Can you please inform Orochimaru-sama that because of our schedule we can only stay for as long as until after the meeting. We are terribly sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused you but we head back to Rin as soon as possible.' I said as Kabuto gave a nod. He seemed to take my lie like candy as he disappeared from view.

That made me relax a little the fact that we weren't under suspicion here. Also the fact that we all had one room made me relax quite a bit more as he stated that Orochimaru and I would be discussing Rin's decision in an hour.

Ok so, so far we had infiltrated sound. Fooled orochimaru into believing I was the actual Rin ambassador. And infiltrated his high security evil lair everything was going smoothly.

'Man why couldn't you have come along when we were looking for Sasuke' Naruto whined as he flopped into a chair. I raised an eyebrow.

'Who's Sasuke?' I asked as Naruto realized his obvious slip up. He shook his head.

'Sorry memories from that Naruto kid I did that jutsu on back in fire country. Has my head all screwed up' he said bluntly rubbing his forehead like it was actually sore. I shrugged as Sakura rolled her shoulder.

'Yea those Fire shinobi put up a fight I hope that Kakashi guy is licking his wounds.' Sakura stated as Kakashi gave her a look.

'I'm still impressed that he managed to save the pink haired girls butt before I nearly froze it into a glacier.' Kakashi boasted as I raised an eyebrow before opening my pack and taking out the official documents.

'Now now, were not here to boast about how badly we beat the Shinobi from leaf. I have politics to discuss as much as none of you know about this I don't think Orochimaru-san will be very pleased to hear Rin's reply. Be prepared to have to fight our way out.' I stated as the others nodded. We had already prepared for that eventuality.

'what are we retrieving while you're discussing politics?' Kakashi asked as I pulled out a scroll.

'Blue prints. They should be located two rooms over from where I will be having my meeting. Grab all of the blue prints and anything you find is relevant in the documentation room. We are also looking for any forbidden jutsu scrolls or anything that looks suspicious.' I stated as Kakashi gave a nod. Sasuke and Sakura were going to be the ones to come to the meeting with me while Sai, Kakashi, and Naruto were going to retrieve the documents.

All was going to plan as I changed into the dress Rin had supplied me with. Essentially it was a kimono layer that was worn over my regular clothes but looked like a full kimono.

'Oi not so tight I need to be able to breathe!' I hissed as Akane was jabbed into my back by Sakura's fierce pulling on the kimono's obi. I tried to breathe deeply as a feeling of unsettlement started to creep into my system. Usually when this happened I obeyed my instinct. Something was about to go very, very wrong on this mission.

'Kasu?' I called in a half whisper as Kakashi drifted over to where I stood as he set my purple cloak over my shoulders.

'yes?' He asked as I noticed the others were talking over escape routes and battle plans if the mission should end in a fight.

'I have a really bad feeling that something is going to go wrong.' I stated his eyes flashed with something akin to worry before he gave me a hug.

'Everything will go smoothly if we just play our parts and no one interferes.' He stated as I nodded against his chest. I still did not feel comforted in the slightest as he kissed my forehead and rubbed my back. Even with Kakashi there the feeling of unease that had settled in me was almost frightening. I sat down in one of the hard armchairs that were in the dim room and tried to meditate a bit. Nothing seemed to be working as Kakashi reviewed the plans with the others.

'Remember if something goes wrong. Get out. No matter how you do it, get out and meet at the rendezvous inside of fire country. Got it?' Kakashi stated as the others nodded determination setting in as my unease grew. We should be running now! Not staying here, there was a reason I had lived this long in my line of work, listen to your gut instincts. More than usually they were right!

There was a knock on the door as I froze. Every muscle in my body screamed at Kakashi not to open the door as instead Sasuke did. Kabuto strolled in but still I must've resembled a board with how tense I was as I followed Kabuto down a nearby hallway. I had a radio in my ear as Kakashi's smooth voice crackled over the little clear earpiece.

'Ok we'll wait until you're around the corner before following.' He stated as Sakura coughed into her hand as an acknowledgment before we turned down another hallway. Sakura was to my right carrying some official documents as Sasuke walked to my left looking extremely feral and almost insane with the grin he had across his face.

We turned down another hallway. This place seemed endless, like a massive labyrinth of corridors, doors and torches as in the gloom I saw something massive move. I blinked as we turned the corner before it to see it was actually a massive snake. I nearly shit a brick. That thing was jinormous! Why would anyone keep something like that in a castle or fortress… whatever this place was. Sasuke noticed it but paid no attention as he gently, yet firmly, pushed me down the adjacent corridor. I really didn't like snakes, and knowing my luck that massive thing was probably venomous and I would be seeing it later if my gut instinct was telling me anything.

Quite abruptly Kabuto stopped and held his hand out to a door. It wasn't anything special just a brown wooden door like every other million doors in this establishment. I gave the man a nod as Sasuke opened the door and Sakura pushed me gently inside. The inside room was fairly large and mostly occupied by a large oak table. On one side was fire, yet it gave no light nor warmth to the dingy room. I saw Orochimaru sitting at the far end of the table as he stood up when he entered. Maro was sitting beside him as I suppressed a shiver. There was something not right about this man as I remembered Kakashi's agonizing screams that now would've torn my heart and soul out to see him in that much pain.

'Welcome, sit please Rin-san' Orochimaru gestured to the chair beside him as I forced my legs to move more closely to the two men. Kabuto had come into the room and was now standing behind his master's chair as Maro also stood and gave me a slight bow. I inclined my head in acknowledgement before I sat beside Orochimaru. Sakura brought first the first scroll as I gently unrolled it. It was our declination as I cleared my throat.

'The Village hidden in the Ice is graciously declining your offer to ally ourselves with the sound nation. We feel that as we are so removed from the politics of this region that it would be best of all Ice ninja were pulled from the east and directed to return home. However for your offer which we have declined we have sent along a gift as a compensation for our support.' I read as orochimaru looked slightly ticked but at the same time expectant. Nori rubbed against my leg as I realized I hadn't noticed her really until just then. She had been so quiet and out of my sight I hadn't registered the fact that she had come with me. Stupidity on my part; I placed my hand on the cats head as Sakura brought forth the second scroll. One it was a summoning jutsu as I had Nori bite the side of my finger. I pulled my hand up from under the table as Orochimaru looked stunned at how I had been able to make myself bleed. I assumed he hadn't seen Nori before he clued in. I made the traditional X as with a puff of snow lay the biggest freaking sapphire I had ever seen. No matter the fact that it was surrounded by at least ten wads of cash all made of 100,000 Ryou notes. I passed the money to orochimaru as suddenly there sounded something like a tremor. The lamp from the ceiling swung as shadows danced around the room madly.

'Earthquake?' Sakura asked as Sasuke shook his head. It happened again but this time the force of whatever the commotion was caused the lamp to break from the ceiling. I dove under the table as glass shattered with fragments of flames all over the room.

'we're under attack!' Orochimaru hissed as I grabbed one of the wads of cash that had fallen under the table. Snake man wouldn't miss this as Sasuke hauled me out from under the table.

'We have to go NOW' he hissed as we ran for the hall. We split from Orochimaru as Nori led us down a different hall. I had no idea where we were running as suddenly I picked up a chakra signal from my left before it slammed into me. I was knocked clear off my feet as I landed in a crouch and slid a few feet before I noticed it was the others that had caught up with us.

'Was that you guys?' Naruto asked as I shook my head. Kakashi looked concerned as another tremor rocked the hallway. This one threw me onto the ground as a large portion of wall collapsed from the direction in which we came.

'We have to get out of here!' I said as we ran, Nori and Kakashi led as they twisted us through tunnel after tunnel. It all looked the same as a few times we were forced to hold onto walls or we were thrown to the ground by the force of the tremors.

We came to a halt at a junction of three hallways. Nori and Kakashi had seemed to loose the trail of fresh air or whatever they had been following as they turned to look at Sasuke. He shrugged.

'I never came down this far. This is usually where Orochimaru kept his snakes.' Sasuke said as I heard a distinct sucking noise coming from the right tunnel.

'Hey guys, doesn't a tsunami make a sucking noise when the tide goes out?' I asked as Sakura told me I was right.

'RUN FOR HIGH GROUND!' I screamed and chose the left tunnel. It had a slight incline as the sucking noise became louder. There was another tremor as it was so violent I was thrown off of my feet and into the wall as the torches actually came out of the holsters on the wall and began to roll back the way we had run. I grabbed one as we continued our run up the slight incline. I turned to look back at Kakashi who was right behind me as I saw it. A wave of water was rushing up to greet us as I pointed before we were swallowed by the vortex.

I grabbed Kakashi's arm as we were tumbled I guessed upwards. In all honesty I couldn't tell what was up and what was down as I hit my shoulder off of something . I knew there was damage as a cloud of red swirled past my vision before it was sucked into the eternal gloom. As suddenly as the wave had caught us I had the sensation of flying, turns out we had been shot like a geyser out of Orochimaru's evil fortress and was now lying on a rather marshy field.

Explosions rocked the air as I lay on whatever had broken my fall as I assessed the damage whatever I hit had done to my shoulder. I could move my fingers but moving my entire left arm was out of the question. My guess was that I had hit one of the torch holsters and managed to dislocate and puncture the tissue. Damn, this was going to hurt like hell later. I staggered to my feet as I noticed I had landed on a patch of moss that had broken my fall as the others were getting to their feet. Kakashi was lying sprawled in a tree as I ran over to see if he was alright. Landing in a tree had to hurt especially if I had nice moss to land on.

'Kakashi!' I yelled scrambling up the tree with only one arm. Chakra was an amazing help as I made to the branch where he had managed to catch himself.

'Are you alright yuki?' he asked as I nodded before he caught sight of my arm. His eyes narrowed. 'No you're not that's dislocated isn't it?' he asked as I sighed.

'Yes but you landed in a tree are you alright?' I asked as he didn't answer but in one swift movement had grabbed me, rotated my arm and shoved my shoulder back into place. I screamed, oh god that hurt so badly as fire seemed to surround the appendage. As he double checked to make sure nothing else was broken.

'I'm fine.' I stated as I heard a creak on a branch near by. I grabbed a shuriken and threw it as there was a dark laugh. Everyone in the clearing froze.

Who was that?

Kakashi and I took a fighting stance back to back in the tree. I hadn't a hope in hell if they came at my left side with this shoulder the most I could do was slap them or throw something at them. I probably couldn't even bear any weight on it.

'Now, now Kakashi-san why don't you give the nice kunoichi to us, Hm?' the low voice was calm as I jerked my head to the left to see the feminine blonde man that had attempted to kidnapped me before on his giant bird.

'Ah Diedara, I figured someone like you was behind the explosions.' Kakashi muttered as I looked between them. They knew each other. I shifted my hands into the Dragon seal underneath my kimono sleeves as Diedara gave a cheeky laugh.

'Ah even the great copy ninja knows my handy work. That's so flattering but sadly I'm not here to chat Kakashi-kun, I have to take this lovely little Ice princess back to headquarters. I'm sure you wouldn't mind, Hm?' he drawled shifting on the branch a little. Kakashi gave a dark chuckle as he pulled out a kunai.

'I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline Diedara. My ice princess stays in Konoha.' Kakashi said as I blew into my hands at the moment. In an instant Diedara was frozen in a block of ice as I hit the ground at a flat out run.

'Head for the rendezvous!' I heard Kakashi shout from my left as I dodged a fire ball jutsu and flipped over a barrage of kunai. I threw a blizzard in their path before unleashing my water dragon jutsu as the icy monster concealed itself in the misty marsh. So Kakashi was right, the Akatsuki were after me. I dodged a particularly large exploding tag as someone grabbed my ankle. I gave a yelp of surprise before I used a replacement jutsu and landed safely in a tree a few feet away.

'Nice try!' came a shout as I rolled right. I looked back to see the blue man from before wielding an enormous sword. He had managed to snick off about four inches of my hair as my hair tie fell loose. The large blue man heaved the sword back onto his shoulder as he grinned revealing a row of perfectly pointed teeth. He stepped closer to me as I realized he looked exactly like a shark. Kind of freaky if you really thought about it, a giant shark man I wondered which parent was into bestiality.

'Wow. Sorry but I have to leave now. It's been fun' I smiled as I used the transportation jutsu and landed on a branch surprisingly right next to Kakashi. He jumped as I put my hand on his and the other over his masked mouth. He gave me a dirty look as I gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. He already had a few cuts from close encounters as we sat together in the tree waiting and listening.

'Get to the rendezvous. I'll meet you there. You're the one they're after if we can distract them long enough we can get you to Konoha.' Kakashi looked at me the sharingan whirled as it fixated on me. His brown eye was flinty but for some reason the sharingan looked at me with a mixture of fear, anxiety, and something I suspected was love. I nodded as I heard a snarl from Nori before she disappeared into the nearby trees. Shark man was hot on her trail as I felt anger course through me. Oh no he was not going to attack Nori on my watch! Kakashi gave me a serious look, almost pleading for me to be safe as I brushed his hair out of his face. He was worrying for nothing. I gave Kakashi another kiss as my earring caught on his forehead protector. I jerked as the small item came loose and stuck there. Kakashi didn't seem to notice as I jumped into the darkening foliage after Nori.

The sun was starting to set as I tracked Nori, little flecks of blood mottled trees as I found her in a small clearing fighting shark man. I had the element of surprise as I quickly sent chakra to my eyes. It was amazing how clear everything became as I ran at shark man's back. I was nearly blinked as I looked at his chakra points he had so much it was like he had an ocean inside of him. I hit one of his major chakra points as he let out a snarl and tried to decapitate me with his sword. I hit another point under his arm and slid between his legs as he tried another swing.

I hit his chest as his right arm dropped. Thankfully I had been able to slow the chakra flow to his arm sadly I didn't have the resources to stem his ocean of chakra as he reached out and swung a punch at me. I rolled left as I hissed when a Kunai hit my already abused shoulder. I pulled the weapon out as Nori attack from the side as I threw the kunai back at the shark man.

'Stop being childish yuki' the icily familiar voice made me freeze as I looked up into blazing sharingans. It wasn't Sasuke I was looking at as he spun the kunai between his two fingers. My breath hitched as Nori gave a feral hiss before shark man had knocked her unconscious. She transformed back into her kitten state as she was thrown at me. I caught her and cradled her against my chest. I looked back up to see Itachi watching me curiously. I took a step back as his hand shot out pointing toward me. I moved as fast as I could even using my speed jutsu. Itachi was dangerous, I didn't know about the others but Itachi definitely was.

I ducked a low branch as I turned to see black and red beside me. I blinked holy shit he was fast! I dropped to the ground as a rain of senbon was thrown at me. I dodged climbing up the tree I ran straight for the top as I burst out of the foliage. I looked down to see a huge three bladed scythe whisk its way through the tops of the trees toward me. I kicked the flat side back toward earth as I started to fall. I quickly reached out and grabbed the nearest branch and swung myself around gaining a bit of momentum before someone grabbed my injured arm. I bit back a yell and hit who ever it was right in the chakra point beside their neck as black and red dropped from the tree. I hadn't killed him but at least he wouldn't be moving for a while.

I turned to run as something smashed me over the back of the head. The world swam as I dropped from the branch I was on. No, NO! I was not getting caught by the Akatsuki! I made rapid seals as I blew into them. I knew my blizzard jutsu wouldn't work quite effectively but it would confuse them long enough for me to get away I hoped. My vision swam and darkened as spots of colour danced before them. I was almost out of chakra from trying to sustain myself while being stuck in the watery vortex from earlier.

Things were not looking good. They had managed to separate me from Kakashi and the others. I was wounded, chakra almost gone and I had no idea where I was running. I stopped and slid behind a tree and masked all of my chakra. I heard footsteps run by before I got up and back tracked the way I had come. I hoped I would run into Kakashi or the others. I took an outside route as I jumped I heard the chime of a bell as I realized my mistake. Of course they had set up traps. In a split second I was being electrocuted from the electric wire they had left behind. Dammit! I was completely out of chakra, there was nothing left. If I gave anymore then I most definitely would die. I hit the ground and shakily attempted to get to my feet. My muscles thought differently as they spasmed because of the electrical abuse they had just suffered.

Get up, get up get up get up getup! I chanted as I got to my feet. I tried to take three steps as I heard footsteps and someone unleashed a barrage of kunai and shuriken. I threw myself in the dirt to avoid most of it as one caught me in the back. I hissed as whoever it was grabbed me by the neck and slammed me roughly against a tree. The Kunai dug into my back as I tried to scream in pain. I gasped for air as I grabbed his much larger hand trying desperately for some air.

'Do you think that little chakra point was funny bitch?' he hissed as I struggled to breathe. I was definitely dying as I felt my body growing weaker. Oh no, poor kakashi, he'd be crushed if I died. I couldn't think straight as his smiling face flashed before my eyes. He would blame himself. Kakashi's face at the memorial, hard and cold as stone. But I knew the end was coming for me and I accepted it as suddenly I could breathe again. The rush of oxygen was too much though as the world spun sideways and the last thing I saw was blood red clouds swirling up to meet me.

AN: OO THE PLOT THICKENS!!! I would like to thank my review kairi0403 she has stuck by me so far with this story. I personally dedicate this one to her. I hope you all enjoy this so far! R&R-demonica


	14. SENSEI! and brothers

'Hey is she alright?' a voice floated somewhere above me. It was definitely masculine but I had no idea who it was.

'I don't know if you didn't nearly crush her trachea Hidan!' someone growled as I heard a shift.

'Hey well that chakra point hurt the bitch deserved it!' came another as I pretended to be dead. Really if I was dead then maybe they would let me go? Or at least throw me outside to rot, then I could run away. No such luck though, maybe I could fall back asleep? Unconsciousness was much more pleasant than listening to this banter.

'Who ate my pocky? Man, I just bought that two days ago!' there was stomping as I thought I heard a kitchen cabinet opening. What kind of weird twisted hell had I been placed in? Pocky? What the hell?

'Well the good news is that you have caught her. The next problem is solving those wounds.' Came a rather childlike voice as I felt my body being flipped over. It jostled my shoulder as I couldn't help but groaning as the flash of white hot pain raced up and over my shoulder. Immediately everyone let go as I heard a gasp.

'Sasori! I thought you were dead! That Sakura girl killed you did she not?' came Diedara's unnaturally feminine voice. I heard shifting as someone walked closer obviously.

'No it was just some lame plot-twist-no-jutsu that some kid randomly pulled. I'm fine, a little sore but fine.' He stated as there was some shared muttering before someone was starting to under do my shirt.

SMACK!

I leap off of the couch punching whoever had dared to go anywhere near my chest as I backed myself up against a wall and grabbed the closest thing to me which, sadly happened to be a lamp with a rather frilly blue shade.

'OW FUCK!' someone cursed as I looked to see that I had punched Diedara in the face. He was cradling a fat lip as shark man roared with laughter on the floor. The others one being a tall silver haired man with some freaky three pronged scythe, another guy who looked like he was wearing a Punjab with Christmas coloured eyes, a small boy with flaming red hair who had a kind smile but I didn't believe it for a second and a guy with an orange mask that resembled a pumpkin who was trying to sneak closer to me.

'Back off pumpkin head' I snapped brandishing the lamp as if it were Akane. The guy in the orange mask look confused before shark boy started to laugh again. They didn't seem like they wanted to attack me or anything as I noticed the lamp was getting rather heavy. I let my left arm drop as something warm oozed from where the kunai had punctured my back.

'Now miss please drop the lamp. We wont hurt you.' The kid with red hair said as e took a step closer. I gingerly moved my left hand over my shoulder and fumbled for Akane. It was still there as I grabbed and pulled out the long glistening katana.

'HOLY SHIT where was she hiding that beast?!' the guy with silver hair who nearly choked me to death exclaimed as I brandished the weapon at him.

'My ass.' I said as a grin crossed his face. Christmas eyes didn't look too threatened as Diedara looked up at me. He crossed the room angrily as two steps from me I reached out and smacked him with the lamp. He blocked it easy enough as I swung with Akane I found myself completely immobilized. I looked around and noticed the red head as he gave me a sad look.

'Sorry its for your own good.' He said as he manipulated me like a puppet. I blinked, and looked at the kid, I had only heard stories from Suna about this kid. This was Sasori of the red sands. The best, if not completely psycho, puppet master that there had ever been.

'Oh no. I'm surrounded by psychos.' I muttered to myself as Sasori gave me an elegant quizzical look. He seated me on the couch as Diedara sat beside me. The others left to other parts of the house I guessed as Sasori asked me where I was injured.

'So your back and left shoulder correct?' he asked as I nodded. This was weird the Akatsuki were being NICE. There was something that wasn't connecting here. This notorious group of bad guys known as some of the strongest Ninja to ever have walked the face of the planet, people who could destroy anyone in their path if they pissed them off even in the slightest, were being nice to me.

'Ok what kind of creepy messed up world am I? Please tell me I'm dead so I can return to Konoha and haunt Kakashi's ass until he dies. Or am I stuck here in testosterone hell?' I asked as Diedara laughed.

'No you aren't dead , Hm. And why would you want to haunt that copy ninja, sure he's rough and has a fine physique but seriously isn't he cold?' Diedara stated as I blinked. Was this guy a hermaphrodite? I was so confused. Was he gay, bi, or as confused as I was at the moment in time as I sat there blinking at him.

'Never mind Diedara-kun he's just upset he lost one of his arms to the copy-ninja.' Sasori muttered as he directed me to take off my kimono, cloak and yukata so he could get a better look at my back and shoulder. Diedara seemed miffed as he stretched out two arms that looked perfectly functional to me. It was tedious to get my yukata off because the blood had dried in scabbed to the fabric so it tore the wounds open as soon as I removed my yukata.

'OW MOTHER OF A GOLDFISH!' I hissed as Sasori gave a gentle tug and the clothing came free.

'What about Kisame's mother?' Diedara giggled as I blinked.

'Who?' I asked as shark man came around the corner.

'Kisame-san' Diedara said as the shark guy looked at us as he suddenly sprouted a nosebleed and collapsed onto the kitchen floor. 'uh Kisame-san?' Diedara asked as he went over and poked the massive shark man who was twitching slightly on the floor.

'Clean up on aisle one!' I called as the guy with the pumpkin mask ran in. I blinked as he carried a bucket full of cleaning supplies and a mop in one hand.

'Tobi is a good boy!' he announced and promptly began cleaning over and around Kisame. I deadpanned. What the hell?! I was brought back to the real world as it felt like Sasori was digging around in one of my wounds.

'Ow you know I am alive and that hurts!' I snapped as he apologized and was suddenly so gentle I barely felt any of his ministrations as I heard a dull plick of metal on metal as I noticed he had produced a small steel bowl and was pulling senbon fragments from my back. When did I get hit by senbon? I tried to recall my attempted flight toward Konoha but all I managed to come up was kissing Kakashi and seeing Itachi's eyes as I jumped.

Itachi.

'If you don't want it to hurt stay still.' Sasori stated as I heard it distantly. Itachi, my brother. A small smile curved onto my face as the shoji screen opened. Low and behold it was just the man I had been thinking of. Itachi strolled in as he gave me a glance.

I pulled one of the shuriken out of my top and threw it at him. I knew he caught it easily as we both turned to look at each other. Still the same old cold man I remembered.

'Yuki-chan' he stated as I smirked.

'Sensei, nii-san' I stated as everyone froze. Then everyone looked between myself and Itachi. He didn't seem phased as he walked out of the room and down the hall. Everyone in the room then looked at me as I sighed and caught my shuriken before it impaled the lamp I had been used a weapon earlier and stuck it back in my shirt.

'you-he-what- ow my brain!' Deidara stated as he sat down on a bar stool by the kitchen sink.

'Interesting. So Itachi-san is your brother and teacher?' Sasori said going back to finding all of the little senbon pieces as something zapped me. Now I remembered, the electrocution I guess there had been more than just wire involved with that one.

'but HOW?!' Diedara exclaimed as Kisame even looked at me blinking from the floor.

'I never knew myself until recently when I ran into Sasuke-chan' I said as everyone in the room spit. I blinked, what was the word taboo or something? 'Anyway, I was on a mission and was attacked by one or Orochimaru's snakes. That hospitalized me for the better part of two weeks and then the hokage comes storming in freaking out about me being an Uchiha. Turns out I'm Itachi-kun's older half sister.' I stated as they all looked still rather stunned but Kisame was the first to speak up.

'Then how is he your sensei?' he asked as I shrugged.

'Rin is known for the best assassins in the world so where better to look for your fabled sister than the farthest ninja nation still connected in various ways to the five great ninja countries?' I stated as they nodded that made sense too. I wasn't going to give them direct answers because I didn't know them myself. Itachi had been surprisingly like Kakashi in his round about answers and love of staying silent.

'You really don't look like an Uchiha. You're so plain' Kisame said as I shot him a look. He shrugged.

'This plain put you on the floor for a few minutes didn't it?' I stated as he grinned. I rolled my eyes then dropped the jutsu I had been holding onto. Maybe if I had dropped that earlier I might have had a chance of fighting back a little more as there was wolf whistle.

'Definitely an Uchiha.' Kisame stated as I glared at him. His grin widened as he saw my odd coloured eyes.

'Ah now I know why Konoha flipped out about you.' Tobi said as we all realized he was still in the room. Man this guy would be great for getting information if he could blend into the background that well.

'And why would that be Tobi-kun?' Diedara asked yawning as Sasori seemed finished with pulling the needles out of my shoulder and was now checking my previously dislocated arm.

'She's half Hyuuga!' he stated as everyone looked at the man. It seemed that no one knew much about Tobi or how he got his information.

'It's true' I stated as Sasori moved.

'I need you to remove your shirt but not with these perverts here.' He said as he gently took my wrist in his hand. I gathered my clothing as Kisame and Diedara protested but a single look from me silenced them. Maybe having Uchiha blood was a good thing here.

We passed by a great deal of shoji doors before Sasori opened one. It was quite nice inside with a bed pushed to one corner, a small desk with a wheelie chair. There was a nice window that looked out onto a small waterfall and rock garden. I had a door that led to a walkway that was around the garden. I looked out and saw Itachi actually he seemed to be painting his nails while sitting on his window frame as I bit back a laugh and sat on the bed.

'this shall be your room until leader gets a chance to speak with you.' Sasori said as I gave a nod. I wonder what this ominous leader wanted with me? Probably wanted me to help out that Akatsuki seeing as I was a dragon ninja. Which reminded me, where was my mask? Probably still in the pack that Sasuke had. Man I always leave important things behind!

'And you're going to have to remove your shirt so I can treat your wounds properly.' He stated as I blinked. In the short time I had zoned out he had produced gauze, bandages and some kind of salve. I nodded then made a twirling finger motion for him to turn around. He gave me an irritated glance before he complied. For such a high ranking s-class criminal he sure was a push over.

I pulled off my shirt until it bunched around my neck but removed my wire shirt.

'Alright. Do your worst.' I said lying down on my front as Sasori set to work. The only thing about it was the smell, god that salve was awful. I hated the smell of chamomile and it seemed that happened to be the main ingredient in Sasori's concoction. Before he bandaged me and let me re-dress myself.

'Thank you Sasori-san' I said as the redhead gave me a slight smile.

'Anytime I hate seeing people in pain but as a ninja it is what we are trained to understand.' He said before leaving the room. His last statement puzzled me as I looked out the window to see the silver haired man leaning on my window frame with a rather predatory grin on his face.

'Can I help you?' I asked as his grin became even wider. He was seriously freaking me out.

'Oh you already have.' He said distinctly looking at my chest. Anger rose as I clapped my hands together in a blur and directed my chakra to the window as I hoped he froze there.

'Say anything like that again around my and I'll freeze you dick to a metal pole and hope you have fun trying to get it off.' I said before sweeping out of the room slinging my purple cloak over my shoulders. Asshole. I slid the door open to find silver man had managed to get out of my trap and was walking away as I stepped out onto the little balcony that ran around the garden. It seemed the entire house surrounded this little garden as I plunked my butt down but the little koi pond.

Kakashi… my mind drifted to him. How long had I been gone? Well I had been out cold long enough for them to get me here and long enough for those senbon needles to nearly get infected so probably nearly two or three days. I sighed. Kakashi would be having a shit fit. Either that or he probably thought I was being tortured within an inch of my life. The opposite was true really as I remembered his mask less face. There was a sight I would remember until the day I died.

I would've used my bloodline limit to see Kakashi but I didn't have the chakra strength yet. I had definitely depleted whatever amount I had during that fight. Me against four guys, I had done it before but these were insanely gifted shinobi. Yes, I had come out as the next in line for Yuki-kage but that was only because I could work very efficiently under pressure and make wise decisions.

I swung my feet back and forth as I heard footsteps beside me. I recognized the pattern as a black cloak and the smell of fresh nail polish assaulted my senses. Itachi was never one for big long out discussions. He was definitely a man based more upon his actions than his words. Besides whatever the general populace of Konoha thought I believed Itachi was a good person. He had a harsh way of showing it but once you were close to the man he really wasn't all bad. We sat in comfortable silence as it reminded me of old times before Yuuto and Akio had died and my world had been flipped irreparably upside down. I decided to speak first since I knew he wouldn't.

'It's been a long time hasn't it Itachi-sensei' I said as he gave his usual 'Hn' for an answer meaning 'yes it most definitely has been a long time'.

'You have an unusual set of people you've allied yourself with here.' I stated as he shrugged slightly and inspected one of his nails that seemed to have gotten smudged a little.

'They are interesting, if annoying in their own rights.' He said as we left it at that. He seemed to like his friends even if they did annoy him. There was a crash from the direction of the kitchen before laughter broke out. I shook my head boys will be boys it seemed no matter where. I looked at Itachi, cold and closed as ever as I wondered if I could any information out of him as to why there was such a fuss in capturing me.

'Why am I here Itachi-sensei? What could your leader want with me?' I asked as Itachi turned brown-black eyes to me. For some reason I noticed his line of sight was a little off, what was wrong with him?

'We have a new threat that is starting to become a danger not only to our causes but to the entire side of this world. There is a man who has allied himself with Orochimaru and is using the snake bastard as a pawn to spin the five great nations into an all out war. Leader will tell you more when you meet with him.' Itachi stated as I blinked. Wow. I had not seen that coming but then again, I thought back to the cover story I had been given to go to sound country. An alliance with Rin, now it all clicked into place. It might be beneficial to everyone if I let the information leak to Itachi, he seemed to be capable enough not to give the information to the wrong set of people.

'Itachi-sensei, the reason I was in sound country when you attacked the fortress was because Orochimaru wanted to create an alliance with Ice. I was sent to decline their offer and pay him off.' I said as I remembered the wad of cash I had grabbed as I fished around in my pockets before pulling out the still slightly damp wad of cash. Itachi looked mildly surprised at the amount of money I was holding as I stuffed it back in my cloak.

'Hn' he muttered as we both sat in silence again. My thoughts drifted once again to Kakashi, maybe I should send him a letter? Put him at ease? No that wouldn't work even though I wasn't being treated like a regular prisoner I still was one. No contact with the outside world. Plus I always had one Akatsuki member with me at all times it seemed, kind of like one of those kindergartners that you had to hold their hand all the way. It was rather irksome as the silence once again stretched.

'Itachi-sensei, what was our mother like?' I asked as I knew the question had caught him off guard. He looked at me and blinked. I wasn't sure if he knew that I knew that he had killed our clan, I still wondered about that.

Itachi got to his feet as started to walk away without saying a word. I followed, usually when he did this it meant he wanted to talk in private about something. I followed him to his room as he entered and shut the window. I closed the door behind me. Itachi's room was much the same as mine except he had a few book lying around and some scattered weapons and a crazy purple flowering plant that was perched on top of his bookshelf next to a framed copy of the same photo I held in my pocket. He took a seat on his desk as he fixed me with one of his piercing stares. It was a talent of the Uchiha's, even I had it, no one forgot if they looked into our eyes it was like we could see through you to your soul.

'Mother always favoured Sasuke. For some reason after father took a liking to me she could never bring herself to look at me. It was always like she was regretting a decision she had made. It was irritating. She was a good mother, but seemed obsessed with Sasuke and ignored me for the most part. Most times I would find her staring out her window when it snowed. I always had a feeling she was hiding something, she didn't even say anything when I murdered her. It was very strange. She just looked at me as if she suddenly knew what she had done wrong and died. She was quite an irritating personality, pretty enough I guess but she was fickle. She never stayed on her decisions like father did. You look a shocking amount like her minus the hair and eye colour. You managed to claim those from the Hyuuga clan' He grumbled as I nodded not sure if looking like our mother made anything easier really. If anything it probably made it harder on Itachi to be reminded of our mother every time he looked at me. Even though it seemed that she hadn't been the most important figure in his life.

'What can you tell me of the Uchiha fortune. Since you've become a rogue I now own it all.' I said as Itachi gave me one of his cold looks. He obviously did not want to be reminded of any of his previous connections to Konoha.

'There's nothing of real importance. I cannot see why you would want anything to do with our clan. Have you seen if you can awaken any sharingan techniques yet?' he changed the subject swiftly as I gave a nod; another attack of the evasive-change-of-topic-no-jutsu as I gave a sigh.

'I can now trap people in basic genjutsu illusions. I have also figured out your finger technique Utakata and can use that but I still have rather bad aim with it. Um…I can also create exploding snow clones and I can copy any jutsu, I can also replicate it immediately and I can also create blizzards where people think they've been wandering around in them for days, I have been practicing my taijutsu and various ninjutsu that I have picked up traveling in the last three years.' I stated as Itachi took all of this in. He was quiet as he seemed to be thinking as there was knock on his door. He looked at me as I opened it. Surprisingly Kisame stood there as he gave a laugh when he saw me.

'Hey is Itachi-san in there? I need to speak with him.' Kisame grumbled as I nodded and looked at my brother. He was already making his way over as he grabbed a reed hat off of the hook on the way as well as his red and black cloak.

'We will begin training tomorrow Yuki-chan' he said before we all stepped out into the hallway, Itachi closing his bedroom door behind himself as he gave me another one of his piercing looks. 'Kill Hidan, Kakuzu or Zetsu if they touch you.' Itachi ordered as I nodded and the duo headed off down the hall. I knew Itachi was protective, he had always been. Being quiet and cold just seemed to be his thing. It never really bothered me because in reality, I was the only one who could get him to talk to me the way he did. I highly doubted anyone would even dream about asking the feared Uchiha Itachi about his mother. Let alone getting a response or information really. I was still curious as to why he murdered our entire clan save Sasuke and I. I mean he knew I was his older sister when we were training in Rin and he could've killed me on any number of missions and made it look like it had been the enemy or an accident.

Maybe Konoha was holding a secret that had to do with Itachi? It seemed plausible. I mean they hid me as a secret for 24 years! That gave me a sense of distrust of Konoha and I personally didn't think Itachi was a complete psycho. Knowing my luck our clan had some pretty freaky ideas on how to get the all powerful mangekyou sharingan. I sighed to myself plopping back down on the porch Itachi and I had just left. Some people were so obsessed with power it sickened me. Really if I had the choice I would've become a teacher, teaching children how to throw shuriken was much more comforting than having to deal with s-rank criminals that stole one another's pocky and kidnapped you because they just couldn't ask for your help like normal people. Maybe when I returned to Konoha I would become a school teacher and have missions on the side like on weekends and such. That sounded amazing.

It started raining then. Little droplets landed on my knees as I pulled them to my chest before a flash of lightning and a roll of thunder unleashed the downpour. I must've been miles from Konoha if I could sit outside in the rain and not freeze. Maybe I was in Tea country? It didn't matter, I personally liked rain or precipitation really. It made all of the colours that much brighter in the world and I didn't have to use my bloodline limit.

Itachi wanted to train me once again, this would be a long and painful stay then. Itachi was a touch teacher. He expected nothing less than perfection from his students. Akio I knew had been his pride because he would almost kill himself to get every one of his moves flawless. I was the disappointment because no matter how hard I tried I was always one step slower, one step weaker, and one step behind the boys the entire way. Even though in the final examinations I had come out on top of the others it nearly killed me. After that final fight I had been sp depleted of chakra and beaten so badly I had been hospitalized for nearly a month.

I really needed a shower. I jumped the thought was so random but was true as I ran a hand through my hair. Mmmm greasy! First problem thought was finding the bathroom. I hadn't seen any clues in my bedroom so that meant I had to share a bathroom with how many men? The thought made me shiver. Even if Itachi was my brother these were all grown men and I was NOT sharing any soap period.

I got off of the little porch and entered the hallway where my room was. I knew if I went left I'd head to the kitchen and rest of the house most likely. My best course of action was to go right and pass everyone's bedrooms and there was a high probability that a shower lurked along there. I didn't have a change of clothing sadly and changing back into my now dirty clothes I had been wearing for at least a week. The realization made me shudder as I looked through the set of drawers in my room. There really wasn't anything in there except a pair of socks and a pair of purple boxers to whom they belonged to I had no idea. I checked the closet to find a pair of pants that were definitely way to big for me in everyway. I leant against the wall and assessed my options. I could pilfer Itachi's room but that would end with his wrath upon me tomorrow in training and I knew that would already be hard enough. So that option was out. Sasori had been so nice to me I could ask him but he was so small that I doubted anything would fit me. Diedara would probably help me, he'd take it as a game or a chance to see me naked either way and Kisame was gone with Itachi to do whatever they were doing today.

I guessed Diedara was my best option seeing as he was the most compassionate of all of them to my cause it seemed. I put the socks and boxers back in their respective places and headed for the kitchen. I hadn't a clue where either of their rooms were so I prayed they were still in the Kitchen. There were low murmurs coming as I hid all of my chakra which was fairly easy to do seeing as I was weaker than a kitten in that sense as I poked my head around the corner. Tobi was in the kitchen making something as Hidan was at the bar having a drink of some green coloured liquid and protesting to the Punjab guy who was sitting next to Sasori and Diedara watching TV. I froze as the shoji door opened and a guy who looked like a Venus flytrap with a head of two different colours stroll in out of the rain. I caught a glimpse of the outside world before the shoji door closed. It was raining but it seemed like there was a bit of a green yard that looked rather dented before trees with various hanging mosses swallowed it.

I was definitely in the south, very far south if snow hadn't touched here at all. I was so far from Konoha and Kakashi I realized as a feeling of dread stuck in my stomach. I knew that going into that fortress had been a bad idea.

'Hey Zetsu-san' Tobi squeaked as the green man held up a hand. I knew he was onto me as I anticipated his move. A clamor went up in the kitchen as Zetsu vanished in an instant he was behind me as I threw a kick to his side. He caught it as I reached out and tried to karate chop him as he caught that too, I used it as a distraction to pull out a little shuriken no bigger than my thumb and threw it at him. It caught him in the forehead as I was suddenly wrestled away from the plant man.

'Zetsu you dickhead you can't damage Leader's newest information source!' Hidan snapped as I noticed his hand was sadly on my right breast as I gave his shin a kick for good measure as he gave a grunt and moved his hand to a slightly more appropriate place. Zetsu didn't seem to be all that interested in me anyway as he gave me a quick once over.

'It is nice to meet you' the white half of his head stated as the black kept itself silent before he turned and walked away. Well, what a curious character. I was let go as Hidan's hands lingered a little too long for my liking. I gave him another kick as he let go and I gave him a fierce glare. He looked a little surprised before going back to the bar a grin on his face. Weirdo.

'Ah Yuki-san what brings you here we thought you were talking with Itachi-san, Hm' Diedara gushed as I smiled. Diedara couldn't be that old he had to be around 18-19 as he grinned at me with his long feminine hair, he was definitely good looking and could've gone into being a model or something as equally high paying. I wondered what made him become a ninja, let alone a rogue unless he had more deep rooted issues than I suspected.

'No, no Sensei and Kisame-san left they had something to do. I was wondering if you had any spare clothes though because I want a shower and you caught me without my pack or any summoning scrolls on me.' I stated as Diedara gave me a weird look. 'Yes I have summoning scrolls for clothing you'd be amazed at some of the instances I get into as an ice ninja' I stated as I heard something that sounded like a giggle from the bar. I rolled my eyes I was not going into any descriptions of the weird re-con missions I had been on in Suna.

'I don't think we have any girl's clothing here but let's see what we can find, Hm' Diedara slung his arm over my shoulders and led me away from the kitchen and living room and into the hallway. I had to admit I was glad to get away from everyone because even thought they weren't trying to chop my head off being surrounded my S-class criminals could be nerve wracking.

We passed my room as Diedara knocked on someone's door. He was humming something that reminded me of head, shoulders, knees and toes as the door opened to Sasori's impassive childlike face.

'Diedara-kun, Yukiko-san how can I help you? Are your wounds bothering you at all?' He asked as I shook my head.

'No, no I'm quite fine Sasori-san.' I said as Diedara burst through any formalities that I noticed the Sasori seemed very impartial to.

'Yuki-san wants a shower and she needs clean clothes do you have anything that might fit her Hm?' he stated as I elbowed him.

'Be polite!' I hissed as he grinned and ignored me. It seemed he got a rise out of seeing me irritated as Sasori gave the blonde an irritated glance before looking at me.

'Let me see.' He stated and closed the door. I didn't hear anything and suspected he had silencing wards up or he was really quiet as I stood in the hall listening to Diedara's rather irritating off-tune humming. He changed the songs he was humming so quickly I soon lost any familiarities in the notes as the door opened. Sasori produced a pair of pants that looked like they might fit, a pair of navy boxers, and surprisingly a tank-mask. I thanked him as he said it was really no problem as we continued along. At one point we passed a room that at first I thought there was a multi-coloured pile of scrolls but when I looked more closely it was actually clothes that covered every spare inch of surface in a laundry room.

'Uh Diedara-san when was the last time you guys did laundry?' I asked as he shrugged.

'It was Itachi-san's turn two weeks ago, I don't think he ever did it though Hm.' He said as I put my newly acquired clothing into the blonde's arms before wading through the ocean of dirty clothing. Some had blood stains on it and others had dirt ground into it. Others had rips and tears and some just smelt like something had died in them.

'This is disgusting! You cant live like this!' I stated as the blonde shrugged. As long as I was living here this was unacceptable I started sorting the clothes into piles in the hallway as Diedara watched me in amusement.

'What are you doing Hm?' he asked as I tossed a black shirt with an enormous rip in the shoulder into the darks pile.

'I'm going to do your laundry. So do me a favour, You go find me the last of a set of clothing and I'll tackle this beast' I stated as Diedara laughed and walked down the hall resuming his humming. I rolled my eyes and tossed a pair of tighty whities into the pile of whites. Did not want to know who those belonged to as I slowly made my way through the ocean.

At one point I actually found the washing machine and soon after I unearthed the drier then an ironing board and a closet with soap and various cleaning supplies. How they could ever let their laundry go this far was beyond me. At last I had sorted everything and even unearthed three large wooden tubs. I filled one with hot water and colour-safe bleach and set to soaking the blood out of the various colours, darks, and whites. Next I threw the largest load, the darks, into the washing machine and set it running as I heard footsteps in the hallway.

'What the fuck is all of this?' I heard Hidan snap as I panicked. I needed to hide! I dove under the pile of darks I had piled next to the washer as I hid my chakra and used my bloodline limit to see through the clothes. He came around the corner and peaked into the laundry room clearly surprised to see they actually had a washer and drier. He looked directly at where I was hiding before shrugging and walking away. 'Random I never knew we had a laundry room.' He muttered to himself as I sighed and his footsteps vanished down the hall. I climbed out over the clothes and seeing as It had been quite a while and Diedara hadn't come back and I had no idea where his room was I backtracked to Sasori's room. I felt bad for intruding as I knocked on the door. At once it opened and I was looking at the red haired boy.

'Uh, I was just wondering where I could find Diedara-san's room' I stated as the boy seemed to relax a little.

'At the end of the hall take a right and it's the second door down on the right. The first one is Hidan's and the one on the left will be Kisame's.' he instructed as I thanked him and started off down the hall.

I know this isn't one of the epically exciting chapters but it is a key one! I promise more interaction with Itachi seeing as they will be training once again. As to what they'll be training her on will be a surprise! Btw can you spot the 'fun with the Akatsuki' spoofs in this chapter?

And for fun here's a random thought: If Orochimaru wants Sasuke's body does that make him a pedophile?


	15. Leadersama and the plot thickens

After scampering over the drifting dunes of clothing that were piled outside of the laundry room I took the right and saw yet another bland hallway. There were two doors on the right and one on the left as Sasori had said as I tiptoes past the first one. Hidan was creepy and a pervert from what I could tell and I was in no mood to deal with him. I walked normally past Kisame's room seeing as he was out with Itachi-sensei as I came to Diedara's room. There was a piece of paper stuck to it that said KEEP OUT! With a doodle of Diedara glaring at the bottom right corner it was pinned to the door with a kunai as I knocked on the frame.

'WHADDYA WANT?!' came the drowsy shout as I stifled my giggle. Looks like Diedara had been taking a nap.

'It's me Diedara-san, I wanted to know if you found me any clothes?' I asked as there was stumbling and the door opened. Diedara's blonde hair was messed up and it looked like his eyeliner was smudged as his green eyes looked tired.

'Yea I found you some clothes.' He yawned before leaving the door. I walked in behind him. Turns out Diedara slept in flame pajama pants and nothing else as he grabbed something off of a shelf by his bed. It seemed everyone's rooms was laid out much the same as mine was, save that Diedara's room didn't seem to have a floor because of all of the miscellaneous clothes and was that a plate with pizza on it? Ew. Okay I was not going to clean his room if he made himself sick then it was his fault. When he turned around I noticed a seam on his chest. Was that a scar?

'Here. I managed to find some clothes from Tobi that will probably fit you.' He said handing over the bundle of black clothes. That's when I noticed a tongue droop out of one of his hands. I blinked, had I just seen that?

'Uh Deidara-san, Is there a tongue hanging out of your hand?' I asked as Diedara seemed to wake up a little more. He glanced at his hands and gave a laugh.

'Yea it's my artistic secret see.' He put his palms toward me as two mouths opened up and tongues lolled out. I jumped back, that was FREAKY, who had mouths on their hands?!

'uh, that's… unique?' I stated as Diedara shrugged.

'It weird really but they're quite useful' he tacked on the sexual innuendo as I shook my head. Typical male, think with their dicks not their brains.

'Where's a bathroom that I can use?' I asked as Diedara grabbed my wrist and tugged me down the hall. We took another right as there were more doors.

'We have four bathrooms in this house. Three of them have showers. The closest one to your room is this one. Your room is the door right there on the right facing the garden. Only Itachi, Myself and Kisame use this bathroom you're welcome to as well. But don't use the blue shampoo it's Kisame's and he's rather fussy about it.' Diedara showed me where the towels were and said I was free to use his shampoo which was the green mountain mist one oddly enough. I shooed him from the room and closed the door on his tired looking face. Diedara really was a sweet boy as I locked the door behind me, not that it would stop anyone from coming in I mean they were all S-class criminals if they really wanted in they could just bust down the door.

I stripped out of my clothes. They really did smell like sweat and something sweet like infection along the back of my clothes. My poor outfit from Rin was torn in so many places it would take forever to sew the arms back on from all of the rips. The sash was safe but the pants were trash as was the kimono cover I had. I set Akane beside the toilet as I pulled off my mesh shirt, tank-mask and underwear as I assessed the damage done to my body in my flight from the Akatsuki. Bruises mottled my body some a dark blue-purple, others faded yellows and greens. The scars along my throat and over my lips gleamed in the florescent light. I assumed what Itachi said was true about looking like mother, without the mask I looked shockingly related to the younger of the two Uchiha's like Itachi had said.

I looked at my back, it was mottled with red blotches where I assumed Sasori had pulled the needles out of my back. My throat was also ringed purple from Hidan choking me, it made my scars stand out that much more.

If Kakashi could see my body he'd probably beat himself up blaming what had happened to me was his fault. Scratch that, he probably still believed me getting caught was his fault. I knew how annoying he could be and I figured if anything he had begged Tsunade to come after me and even if she had resisted I wondered if he'd only take missions that would try to lead him closer to me. I missed him terribly. The constant companionship had been an amazing feeling. Having someone love you and you love them was probably the greatest treasure anyone could ever find.

And it seemed mine had been snatched away again. Damn my luck. I decided then and there that I would find some way of attempting to get any kind of communication to Konoha about my whereabouts.

I jumped in the hot shower, it hurt the cuts on my back but at the same time made me feel amazingly refreshed. I looked at the various bottles that lined the edge of the shower's ledges. These men had more shampoos, soaps and body washes than the entire house back in Konoha and I lived with Sakura! I noticed an entire shelf held blue bottles and such. I assumed they were Kisame's as I spotted the green bottle. Next to that I noticed something and made me burst out laughing.

There was soap on a rope on the shower.

I laughed so hard I thought I was going to pee myself as I quickly finished my shower after seeing that. My thoughts drifted to Konoha. I wondered if the snow had stayed Sakura said that it was rare they had snow and even rarer that it stuck around for longer than a week. I sighed, poor Nori, she had just found me and then I was whisked away. I wondered what had happened to her after Itachi had thrown her to me. Had she jumped before I was electrocuted? Had I dropped her? Either way as long as she was with Kakashi she was safe and that was the main thing. Actually if Nori was with Kakashi it would make finding me that much easier.

I dried my hair as I recalled something I had overheard in my wandering around Konoha about Kakashi. I wondered if it was true that he was bi-sexual. It really wasn't a problem if he was, but also the rumours of him being a pervert. I didn't think they were true but then again I was living in a house with 9 S-class criminals that seemed to like pocky so what did I know? I would have to ask him.

I dressed and managed to find my way back to my room. The afternoon slowly passed into evening as I did laundry and read the few scrolls that lay scattered around my room. At one point Sasori came to check on my wounds and reapplied the nasty salve before leaving me to my own devices. It was weird I thought I would've been confined to my room or something while I was here but it didn't seem as such. Maybe they trusted me? No then I would've already regained most of my chakra so far only had a little of half. Hopefully I would be recovered enough to tackle Itachi tomorrow.

Evening arrived as lights were flicked on and the garden outside descended into darkness. The entire area was damp and the ridiculous half mesh tank-top Diedara had given me didn't cover much. I sat on my bed in my purple cloak attempting to keep the damp off of my skin when my door opened and Kisame, covered in mud, water and blood stepped into my room. I jumped and covered myself completely with my cloak.

'Suppers ready' he stated as I glanced at him. He glanced at himself. 'What?' he asked as I shook my head.

'You're lucky I wasn't naked or you'd no longer have a penis' I stated getting up and walking out the door. I could hear Kisame's chuckle behind me as I made my way toward the kitchen. I passed a symbol that looked very much like an Aquarius astrology symbol. It was interesting as I took another step and suddenly it felt like the floor under my feet shifted. When I took another step I noticed I was no longer in the same hallway any longer.

'Aw shit. Teleportation jutsu in a house? COME ON!' I sighed it was dark in this part of the house as I felt for a light switch. Finding one but it not working I pushed chakra into my eyes. It was disorientating using this technique in a house as I focused and looked through the walls surrounding me. They just looked like empty spare rooms as I looked all around me. It seemed that the kitchen was to my left through five different halls. I saw Kisame running toward the kitchen probably assuming I had escaped.

It was unfortunate that I couldn't walk thought walls or fly as I took another corner trying to find a way either outside of the house or a hallway to the kitchen. I couldn't possibly see a single way out of the maze of hallways I had managed to become trapped in but I did spy a window. I managed to climb over the pile of dusty futons and forced the creaky wooden window open. I looked down to see a rather soggy green lawn that was half drenched in water from the torrential rain that was still hammering the house and surrounding area. I hopped to the ground using my chakra to stay on top of the soggy grass. This would be the perfect chance to run away and attempt to find my way back to Konoha and Kakashi. But with what little chakra I had running just was not an option. I looked back at the house and noticed that people were searching the house and it seemed the Itachi had taken to making a patrol around the house. I reached up and closed the window and began walking over the grassy lake toward where the kitchen was.

The house was done in a very traditional style as I passed a long low balcony that didn't seem to have any doors that led inside. I passed the far side of the house and took a left around the corner as someone jumped from the roof. I was sprayed with water as I looked through my sopping wet hair at the Punjab guy and Hidan. I could feel dread set in.

'Well, well trying to get away you little bitch?' Hidan asked as I gave him my best arctic glare. He grinned as I made to try and walk around them. Hidan blocked my path with his three bladed scythe. I turned an even colder glare on him and held it. After a while it seemed to make him slightly nervous as the other guy went to move.

'You're more trouble than your worth. I should just kill you. Your heart would make a nice addition to my collection.' He muttered as I reached for Akane. In a single movement I had pulled Akane free, as long as I was in this house I would have Akane on my person. Even in the shower if need be.

'Ooh, the kitten can fight. Kick Kakuzu's pansy dick less ass!' Hidan cheered as I shot him another arctic look. Kakuzu seemed to enjoy watching me squirm as I watched his oddly coloured eyes. It was more than slightly unnerving as he ran at me. He had managed to produce a kunai seemingly from nowhere as I easily disarmed him. I brought Akane across and the tip of the blade flicked out at the last second and caught Kakuzu in the wrist he tried to unleash some type of thread from his arm behind my back as I leapt toward Hidan. The man jumped out of the way as the threads chased me. I jumped onto the side of building as Kakuzu sent one of his appendages underground. This guy was weird! He could detach body parts and command threads! I turned my head for a second as a barrage of kunai and shuriken were launched at me. I jumped off of the building as Kakuzu's arm launched itself out of the ground at me. I slashed the appendage away as the threads continued after me. I noticed Itachi, Kisame and Sasori had come outside as I cut through the threads.

I turned for a second as I noticed Hidan was gone. I cursed as someone slammed into me. I swung sideways putting a small chakra boost into Akane as I managed to land a hit. He cursed as I dropped to the ground panting. I had used just about all of my chakra as I did several hand seals and pushed my chakra thinly over the ground.

'What are you waiting for get her!' Hidan snapped as Kakuzu stood where he was. It was a smart move as Hidan lost his patience behind me and ran at me. In an instant the water from the ground snaked around him and froze like iron around him. 'What the fuck is this?!' he exclaimed as I felt the drain on my chakra becoming severe. I had to let the jutsu go.

'Enough.' Itachi's voice was sharp and cold as steel as I dropped the jutsu and flopped onto the wet ground. My cloak saved me from becoming totally soaked as I caught my breath. I saw a pair of sandals as I was hauled to my feet. It was Itachi that had made his way over as Kisame had the honour of keeping me on my feet when we went inside. Both of them smelt like blood and dirt as we went inside. Itachi looked like heads were going to roll as we entered through the shoji screen that led to the kitchen. Tobi and Diedara sat on the couch as I noticed it smelt amazing in the tiny room.

'Ah yuki-san where did you go?' Diedara asked as Itachi took a seat at the kitchen table.

'Got lost and was on my way back when I was attacked by psychos' I stated as Kisame steered me into a seat between himself and Diedara. Kisame seemed insanely loyal to Itachi, it was rather nice as Sasori came and sat across from me. Diedara beside him and Tobi beside him. Kakuzu and Hidan sat beside one another a little separated from everyone else as Tobi bounced over and brought bowls of rice and curried chicken to the table.

The meal was silent as I sat between Kisame who towered over me and my brother who was thinner than I was but about the same height as me. I ate my own portion as Kisame and a few of the others downed at least four bowls of the stuff. I was amazed that anyone could eat that much. It seemed I had a knack for finding trouble. First I had managed to be an orphan, given away to the snow because of my parents oops. Second I became an assassin, the worst job in the world for danger. Third my platoon was murdered and I left. I had gone to Konoha and had one of their most feared and deadly ninja fall in love with me. Then I was kidnapped by the Akatsuki and was probably going to be forced to help them. Ah my life was one psycho rollercoaster turn and dip after another.

'So how are you two related?' Diedara piped up as I looked up from my investigation of the table grains. I looked at Itachi as he remained impassive. He was waiting for me to talk so he wouldn't have to, he wasn't giving me his usual shut you mouth and be quiet look so I assumed it was safe to talk.

'We share the same mother.' I stated as Diedara looked contemplative before he snapped his fingers.

'That's it you look slightly like your youngest brother, what's-his-face.' Diedara commented as I nodded Itachi's eyebrows acquired a dangerous slant to them. There was obviously some tension between my brothers. Wonderful. This was going to be interesting if Sasuke came with Kakashi to find me.

'She must've been pretty because Yuki-san is pretty!' Tobi stated as I smiled at the orange mask wearing man.

'Thanks Tobi-san but I never met my mother. So I wouldn't know' I said as Itachi gave me an emotionless look but his eyes were more along the lines of I'm-sorry almost.

'Well now that we've had this little heart to heart conversation I'm going to go throw up!' Hidan stated as Itachi and I glared at him.

'I hope your scythe makes you a unic in a freak accident while you went and fucked yourself.' I spat as Hidan turned to look at me and laughed.

'She's spunky.' He laughed as Kisame followed and clapped me on the shoulder effectively knocking me into the table.

'I didn't think such language could come out of a little mouth!' Kisame laughed as Itachi gave me an irritated look.

'Unfortunately that's the cleanest of her insults.' Itachi muttered before he excused himself and disappeared to his room I assumed. I sat next to Kisame suddenly feeling quite alone after sensei left. It was nice once again having him sitting beside me for meals and such, even if now I knew he was my younger brother he still felt like a father to me.

I sighed and put my head on the table. It was still warm from my bowl of curry as Kisame's huge hand descended on my shoulder. I was pleased to find the he didn't smell anything like fish. He actually kind of smelt like ocean and water in general plus it was mixed with blood, dirt and sweat at the moment because he needed a shower.

'Hey Itachi-san is your sensei why is he so… emotionless?' Diedara asked as I looked at the blonde.

'He's not emotionless. He just doesn't bother to give others the satisfaction of being able to read his face. It's an Uchiha thing. Sasuke-kun's the same way.' I stated as Kisame's warm hand nearly lulled me to sleep. It covered the main part of my shoulder, chakra depletion was a bitch. It was like running until you physically could not run anymore no matter how hard you wanted to then someone made you climb up a really big rock wall using only your arms so your whole body hurt, your throat was raw, and all you wanted to do was pass out for a week because you had zero energy left.

'Is Yuki-san going to be alright?' Tobi asked as I noticed him taking dishes to the kitchen. Kakuzu had removed himself from the table and was now flicking through TV channels as Hidan disappeared to his room.

'I'll be fine Tobi-san.' I muttered more as reassurance to myself. I hadn't been this tired in ages as I saw a bowl of what looked like green ice cream set in front of me. Tobi's orange face mask loomed in front of me.

'Tobi loves green tea ice cream does Yuki-san?' he asked as I smiled and took the cup from his hands. My body felt insanely heavy as it took a great deal of effort to sit up and lift the bowl toward me. It still felt like my chakra was being depleted as suddenly I felt Itachi's chakra come back into the room.

'Kisame-san remove Samehada from the room.' Itachi's voice sounded almost angry as I wondered why. I couldn't believe how tired I was. I hadn't fought that hard against the two of them it felt like I had just about all of my chakra drained. I knew I had left myself enough that it wouldn't take me forever to recover to train with Itachi-sensei tomorrow.

'Yuki-chan are you alright?' Itachi's voice was right behind me as I noticed his smaller hands had replaced the warmth of Kisame's large ones. My hands shook as I had to leave the ice cream on the table. My limbs were so heavy and I was so tired. 'Yuki-chan?' he asked a slight amount of annoyance colouring his voice.

'So… tired.' My voice was hoarse. It was so hard to focus and stay conscious. What was wrong with me?

'Kisame-san can you not control your sword? You could've killed her!' Itachi sounded pissed as the room went deadly silent. I couldn't follow his movements as I slumped back onto the table. I couldn't fall asleep here, I had to stay awake.

'I apologize Itachi-san I forgot it was in the room and it was still focused on keeping her chakra level at half. Here, I'll help her to her room.' He said as Itachi fixed him with a furious glare before Kisame gave him a sorry look that made the shark man look almost comical. Itachi's glare lessened as he gave the shark man a look like we'll-talk-later before I felt him lift me and carry me out of the room. He didn't say anything as I fought to keep my focus on the bottom of his chin. I had to admit Itachi had a nice physique even though I doubted he did much training, for some reason Itachi always made me feel safe. Not something you would normally hear, feeling safe around an Uchiha was I crazy? Maybe I was.

I got a whiff of his coat it smelt blood, old blood and his own masculine scent with the accent of sharp soap. Something bright shone in my eyes as I jerked awake. When had I fallen asleep? I really needed to stop asking myself so many questions maybe I was going crazy from lack of Kakashi and the annoying three.

I looked around to notice I was in my room and I was covered by my bed sheets and an Akatsuki cloak. I heard a slight snore as I looked over to see Diedara passed out at my desk and Kisame was passed out beside the door. How long had I been out? I looked at Diedara whom hand was drooling slightly as his elbow slipped in the goo and off the table causing him to smash his face off of the desk. The resounding bang woke both of them up as I burst out laughing.

'Yuki-san!' they both yelped as they both blinked and Diedara grabbed me in a hug.

'Whoa, whoa I'm alright you guys are acting like I'm dead!' I laughed as they both shared a glance. I froze 'wait, did I die?' I asked as they both sighed.

'You almost did. You lost too much chakra but your levels should be back to normal now. You've been out for the better part of five days.' Diedara stated as I blinked five days! Holy crap! I blinked and stretched feeling all of my joints pop and click. Suddenly the door opened and Itachi marched in. He seemed a little perturbed before he saw me blinking owlishly at him.

'You're awake. Good. Leader-sama wishes to talk with you.' He stated as the other two froze. Leader. I didn't think this was good as Itachi snatched the cloak I was using as a blanket off the bed and tossed me a folded bundle. Turns out it was an Akatsuki cloak with a similar set of clothes to what I had been wearing when they had captured me but in red with white clouds painted on it. It was quite pretty really as Itachi issued everyone out of the room so I could change.

Changed, showered and ready to go Itachi dragged me to the kitchen, forced me to eat something resembling a pasta dish that Tobi had made the night before. It was good but had the distinct mushy taste leftovers always had. Itachi seemed rather nervous his anxiety was almost palpable as Kisame, Diedara and Sasori came into the room dressed in their cloaks.

'Everyone ready?' Sasori asked as I finished off the last of whatever was in my bowl. Personally I didn't want to know but it tasted alright. I gave a nod as we all stood and headed out. Kisame slapped a straw hat on my head before we left the house. It was pouring rain and the backyard now resembled a marshy swamp with a large lake starting near the tree line.

We turned and headed west along the soggy tree branches. The footing was dangerous because of all of the green mosses and plants that seemed to feed off of one another that were slick with the rain. I kept up easily enough after my long sleep I was sore from lying around for so long but my chakra levels were almost perfectly restored. After eating I could feel a little energy come back into me as I stayed behind Itachi and Kisame but in front of Diedara and Sasori as we leapt from branch to branch. I had no idea where we were going. At some point we turned north as soon we were out of the rainstorm and the air took on a more humid feel. It was uncomfortable but at least it was warm as we soon turned west again. The trees thinned into spares shrubs then grassland as the heat grew. It was ridiculously warm under this cloak and hat as soon we hit desert.

We were on the border of Sand country as we skirted the large drifting yellow dunes through an ancient tree line of fossilized trunks and odd skeletal branches that had been left after one of the dunes had moved. Soon we struck out over the sand at a flat run. These guys all seemed to have insane amounts of chakra as we kept running. I had quite a large supply myself thanks to Itachi's ceaseless training and my continued training.

We must've covered at least a couple of leagues before we came to a large cliff face. It towered above us for kilometers it seemed as we neared it, it only seemed to stretch more into the heavens as we finally reached its base. Off to the side I noticed an oddly shaped rock as Kisame kicked it to the side. Immediately a door opened. Itachi grabbed my wrist and tugged me after him. Chatter had ceased between the group as it felt like we were entering some type of church. It was freaky really as we entered the gloom. I turned around as I heard the door slide shut behind me and seal with a finalizing boom. I gulped.

That feeling of dread was back in my stomach and I didn't like it one bit. I didn't have time to think as Itachi dragged me forwards. I stumbled a bit in the dark before my night vision kicked in.

I gasped when I saw the room we were in. It was an old temple that had been left in ruins. Statues of gods were positioned every few meters by large pillars that held up the roof that was at least 12 stories above us. The wall were cracked as were the levels of stairs, a huge candle chandelier hung from uneven chains that looked like they could tear out of the ceiling at any second. But what impressed me the most was the alter. It looked like a pair of outstretched hands carved out of marble. Gouges and chips were riddled through the fingers as a hologram of a person sat perfectly comfortable in the middle of the cupped hands. The others bowed as I followed suit making mine lower than the others.

'Ah Itachi-san I see you have managed to catch the Ice kunoichi. Good work all of you but I wish to speak with her myself. You may wait outside.' He instructed as everyone turned and left. I gulped giving Itachi a frightened look at he passed me. All I got in return was a confident smirk before the four disappeared out of the temple. I looked at the leader. He didn't seem too imposing as a figure but if Itachi respected him then he was to be feared. This was a man I did not want to cross.

'So tell me what it your name?' he drawled his eyes fixing on me as I bowed.

'My name if Yukiko Uchiha Leader-sama' I stated as I saw the twin eyes blink at me.

'You are an Uchiha you say. What it your relation to Itachi-san?' he asked. I could tell he was curious even though his voice only hinted at mild interest.

'He is my younger half brother Leader-sama, we share the same mother.' I said as there was something akin to a 'Hun' from the figure.

'Well that is interesting. But we have matters to discuss. I am sure you want to know why I instructed your brother to track you down.' He stated as I gave a nod. I stood up fully as my back clicked from where I had been stooped. The leader didn't seem like the patient type as I shut my trap and listened. 'As you know the Akatsuki is a group of highly skilled shinobi. What our mission is currently is to capture all of the fox spirits from the one tail to the nine tail. We need these spirits to execute the next phase of our plan. You see in this part of the world our economy depends on war. Shinobi are weapons for war. If there is no war then the entire economy of this part of the world falls into ruin. I am sure you understand this.' He stood and stepped off of the little cupped hands. I nodded.

'yes I understand that war is a needed factor in this part of the world for anyone to survive. That is why after the nations West of the Ice village settled on peace treaties and shinobi were no longer needed we had to change our structure from the governments here to our own unique set of rules.' I stated as Leader nodded.

'Good. Then you have brains at least to understand the reason that I have called you here. You see there has been some difficulties recently with a pair of former Akatsuki members called Orochimaru and Maro.' He spit as a shiver ran up my spine at the memory of Maro's dark obsidian eyes roving over me at the meeting before I was captured. 'It seemed by your reaction that you have met these men.' He stated as I gave a shaky nod.

'yes leader-sama I was sent on a mission from my village to decline their offer of having us ally with them against the next ninja war in this part of the world.' I said as the leader looked contemplative.

'This is some new information. So they're trying to create alliances with sound. Interesting. You prove to be useful Uchiha. So I have a proposition for you.' He stated as I paled. No I would not join the Akatsuki, doing that would go against everything I had worked so hard to accomplish. Kakashi's face flashed through my mind as did everyone else back in Konoha.

'I am willing to let you work with the Akatsuki, not as a member, we could not handle another Uchiha. But you are still our prisoner. If you work with us then I will contemplate not disposing of you after we dispose of Maro and Orochimaru. Your mission along with everyone now in Akatsuki is to dispose of Orochimaru and Maro before they can put their plan of starting a war against allied nations into effect. If you screw this up I will dispose of you. There are no second chances in Akatsuki Yukiko Uchiha. Maybe if this all goes well then you might be able to join.' He stated. I shook my head. I could not join this group, they had to let me go back to Konoha.

'I'm sorry leader-sama. I will only help if in the end you will release me.' I stated as Leader's eyes took on a dangerous slant.

'You will do as you are told in this group. I make the calls here. If I feel like releasing you then I will. If not then death.' He snapped as I shook my head. I was trapped I really didn't want to die but I knew in the end it could be a possibility. 'Are we clear?' he snapped as I didn't move. 'Are we clear?!' he roared as I was suddenly back handed. The force of the blow was amazing as I was thrown back at least 8 feet before I crouched into a roll. I tasted blood as I spat out the gooey red liquid onto the floor. So Leader had a temper.

'I will help you leader-sama if in the end you release me.' I stated as his eyebrows took a very, very dangerous slant to them. Before I could blink his holographic shadow was right in front of me.

'It would be wise if you listened to the leader unless you want to die.' He stated as I looked up at him. My face felt like it was on fire from where he had hit me.

'Those are my terms.' I whispered as I saw his temper get the better of him. He let out a growl before he attacked. I threw up my arms as I blocked the worst of his attack. Still it sent me flying as my back slammed into the stone wall behind me. Pain shot up my back, I hoped nothing was broken as I lay panting surrounded by the rubble of stone fragments.

'Leader-sama' It was a female voice as another hologram appeared. This one had their hair back in a bun as she set a hand on the leader's shoulder. 'She has agreed to work and be loyal to our cause. At the very least we can release her if she is not killed in the assassination of Orochimaru and Maro. She hasn't even fought back to your attacks Leader-sama.' She stated as leader seemed to clam a little in her presence.

'I will think about it.' He stated before he vanished. The female hologram called to the others as I shakily got to my feet. There were definitely a few ribs broken and both of my arms had gouges and scratches like I had been cut with glass. I leant against the wall as I noticed how sore my side was. I held it as Itachi came nearly flying into the room. Kisame, Diedara and Sasori were not far behind him. Itachi came over, stepping through the rubble as I gave them all a smile.

Sasori was talking to the hologram in a quiet voice as he nodded thanked her and she vanished. Itachi was looking me over as I stated I was fine as Sasori came over and stood next to Kisame and Diedara.

'That was reckless what you did. No one ever talks back to Leader-sama' Sasori said as I shook my head. Itachi looked furious at this news.

'You did what?' he hissed fixing me with red sharingans. I tried to speak but nothing came out other than a squeak. Itachi was definitely intimidating.

'She stated to leader that the only terms she would work on was that if she helped then he would let her go free in the end. That is what Konan-san said.' Sasori muttered as Kisame looked at me like I had lost my mind. Itachi looked pissed. Diedara was shocked and Sasori mildly annoyed but so far I hadn't seen Sasori really show any emotion.

'That was stupid and reckless, do you want to be killed?!' he snapped I had never seen Itachi loose his cool before. This was new. I made the hand signs for Sakura's healing jutsu as I mended my ribs and the gouges in my arms. The bruises I could live with I'd heal them later right now I had to deal with Itachi.

'Dying isn't exactly on my list of things to do but I'm not afraid of it.' I stated as this seemed to make Itachi even more angry. Kisame looked afraid as the trio all but ran from the room. Itachi glared at me as I glared back at him. Yes I could've died but I didn't and I sure as hell wasn't going to give up going back to Kakashi without a fight.

'Are you still blaming yourself for not dying with Yuuto and Akio?' he whispered as I blinked. That came out of left field. I shook my head. No that wasn't it, yes I still blamed myself for not being just that much faster to save either one of them but that wasn't the reason why I was willing to risk it all against an insanely strong opponent.

'No Itachi-sensei. I have found someone in Konoha that I love just as much or more than I loved Yuuto-chan and I am willing to risk everything I have to get back to him.' I stated as Itachi's sharingans seemed a little less intimidating at they focused on my chakra flow. I was in pain but more so emotional than physical as I realized just how much Kakashi meant to me. Even only being with him for a few months I had grown so attached to him it was almost painful to be away from him.

'Well it seems that you're one of the only people Konan-san has ever stepped in to save from leader-sama's wrath. It seems that you do have some bloodline limit of avoiding death. Now, come were packing up and moving. It seems your Konoha friends have been tracking our movements and are almost to the house.' Itachi took my upper arm gently and steered me out into the bright Sand country sunshine. I blinked a few times as I heard the door seal behind me.

'So we're back tracking to house to grab our things and run to stone?' Diedara asked as Itachi gave a nod. I could run but those distances were insane to try to travel. For a good ninja to go from where I expected we were in River country to Stone would take the better part of a week.

'Hidan and Kakuzu said they wanted to head to the castle in rain. They don't care where we go.' Sasori recalled as Itachi gave a nod.

'Wave is farther from Sound but we have to cut through Fire country to attack them there. Either way we're going to have to cut through fire as the quickest way to Sound to dispose of these two.' I stated as they all looked at me. 'What I have a brain and can apply tactics too!' I snapped as Sasori nodded.

'Yuki-san is correct. The fastest way to sound and the closest safe house is in Rain but the other option we have is the safe house in that neutral country beside Lightning. But the direct path cuts extremely close to Konoha.' Sasori stated as I nodded.

'Either way we have to deal with the leaf idiots coming after her so lets get moving.' Kisame said and took off toward the south-east. I sighed and followed. I knew they didn't like the Konoha shinobi but at the very least they weren't going charging off to meet them head on and eliminate them. Thankfully. It took about an hour to get back to the main house as we landed in the sopping wet yard. It had started raining again as we entered the kitchen, the house had a strangely abandoned look as we split to our various rooms. I entered mine as I felt a chakra flare. Immediately I used the bloodline limit. I saw the others hurriedly packing things as someone landed on the roof above Diedara's room. Shit.

I threw my things into a small back pack and grabbed the extra pairs of clothes from my dresser. I knew Kakashi would be worried as I pulled a scroll out that I had written to him on my first day there I had added a few details following about my reasoning of what I was doing and had to do and what Tsunade might find interesting with the information I'd gained. I hoped he would find it as I left it on my desk before I jumped out my window. The shadowy figure I focused on looked exactly like Pakkun as I slammed open the door to Diedara's room.

'They're here. We have to leave.' Diedara whispered grabbing my arm and pulling me along the hallway. We met up with the other three as a large explosion ricocheted chunks of wood and plaster from where my room had once been.

'Move!' Kisame commanded as I was grabbed by four different hands and pulled down a nearby hallway. I felt more chakra flares as I heard shouts and confusion before Kisame appeared behind us.

'The whole house is crawling with leaf ninja.' He reported as Itachi gave a nod.

'Split and meet at the western border of fire country.' Itachi commanded as Diedara jumped through the roof. I blinked as Sasori followed him. Itachi grabbed my wrist as we jumped out a window. Kisame met us on the over hang as we jumped to the ground. I felt a familiar chakra signal as I saw Kakashi land on a nearby tree branch.

'I smell wet dog' Kisame laughed as he pulled Samehada in front of him. I looked at Itachi, he had his sharingan on and his grip on my upper arm was getting near painful. I saw Kakashi ready his weapons as Kisame made clones. This was bad, there was no way Kakashi could take on both of them. I could only do one thing in my current predicament.

'Kakashi-kun run away! Get out of here!' I yelled as both Akatsuki members gave me a weird look. Kakashi didn't look like he was going to back down. I sighed. The idiot was going to get himself killed to try to save me.

An explosion rocked the area as a bloom of fire and smoke rose from the far part of the house. Kakashi attacked. I knew he was incredibly fast as Kisame moved to meet him. I watched the lithe jounin flip block and attempt to attack Kisame and Samehada. Itachi was focused on the fight as I focused and made the seals for my blizzard technique. I blew into my right hand as we were engulfed in a crazy whiteout. The rain froze into snow adding to the blizzard as I jerked loose from Itachi and disappeared toward where Kisame had been fighting. I saw Kisame blinking owlishly as I ran over and announced my presence.

'Itachi-sensei is over there. Come on!' I grabbed his arm as someone's arm snaked out and grabbed me. My back hit a flat chest as buckles dug into my shoulders.

'Why do you want me to run?' Kakashi's voice was warm as I nearly melted into a puddle. I turned to see his warm brown eye and the sharingan as I grabbed him in a warm hug.

'I missed you so much, I knew you'd try to find me!' I laughed snuggling into his green vest. He hugged me as I heard shouts of my name and Kakashi's. I stepped back from him and held his forearms. I had missed him so much. He grabbed me in another hug as his lips crashed down on mine. This kiss was hurried as I sighed and his tongue delved into my mouth. He tasted like mint as our tongues slid past one another. I could've died happily as he pulled back panting and kissed my jaw line. He pulled back as for the first time in a long while I realized he could see my face. Gently he traced the scar that ran from my nose over my mouth and traced the one that crossed under my chin. He couldn't see my neck as I leant and brushed my lips over the pulse in his neck. I could feel it jump though the soft cloth as he gently tugged both of our face masks back on.

A massive explosion was detonated by us as Kakashi grabbed me and jumped up into one of the now iced trees. I was crushed against his side as I released the blizzard jutsu. I knew I couldn't go with Kakashi and I felt really bad about tricking him but I knew, as did Itachi that we needed Konoha's back up if we wanted to take out Orochimaru and his lackey.

I felt a whoosh of air as a pair of hands grabbed me. I gulped as Itachi's familiar scent washed over me.

'Thanks for looking after my Onee-chan Kakashi-kun' Itachi muttered in his ear as I was once again whisked away from Kakashi. I hated playing the damsel in distress but it was needed in this scenario. We had used it before in many different circumstances as Itachi played the bad guy and whisked me away.

'Kakashi! HELP!' I screamed as Itachi set me down. I knew he was going to use a transformation jutsu as I felt the familiar tingling of the jutsu. I made a false attempt at trying to run as Kisame caught me and held me with a kunai against my neck. Kakashi moved as I saw the flames engulfing our bodies. I looked at Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura and Neji as they landed on the field. 'Kakashi! Help! Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura, Neji HELP!' I screamed trying to fight against Kisame as I felt him hit me gently on the back of the head. Immediately I acted unconscious as I slumped in the shark man's broad arms.

'YUKIKO!, ONEE-CHAN!, Yuki-chan!' came the chorus of calls as the world rushed by in a whirlwind of fire before we set down on a flowering field surrounded by lush green trees and a warm wind. Kisame set me down as I tore out of his grasp. I rounded on them. I saw Kakashi's look of utter terror and hopelessness, Sasuke's anger and fear, Naruto's surprise and fear, Sakura's fear and shock, and finally Neji who looked tired and ready to kill.

'You have no idea how much I hate you right now.' I spat pointing at Itachi. The man remained impassive as I suddenly was utterly disgusted with myself. I had allowed them to think I was being recaptured, giving Kakashi a feeling of hope then wrenching it away from him.

I flopped down on the grass as with a burst of flame a slightly charred Diedara and Sasori landed in the clearing. I didn't look at them as I stared up at the cloud strewn pockets of sky that filtered through the trees lofty boughs. Damn them. Damn myself. I hated manipulating others, even if it was for the benefit of many. Now I had probably pushed Kakashi to his emotional limits. I felt like something had been ripped out of me when I saw his face.

'Lets get moving.' Itachi said as I didn't move. Kisame sighed and picked me off the ground and slung me over his shoulder. I honestly didn't care, it was a free ride and I could replenish my chakra. I'll admit it pissed me off to no end that I was being carted like a sack of potatoes but I'd take it. Kisame's shoulder was digging into my lower gut as his arm was wrapped over my thighs to keep me balanced.

We ran the rest of the day and well into the night before we stopped at the opposite side of fire country. It was amazing the amount of ground we could cover in one day and a night as Diedara slumped against a tree. Kisame set me on the ground as I set to collecting kindling and firewood. Diedara followed me as I hacked off a small branch and added it to the bundle under my arm. The others had split into various other duties as Diedara regarded a branch sneaking glances at me. My temper was short as it was without the teens glances.

'What do you want to talk about Diedara-san?' I asked steeling my temper and looking at the sky as if it might help control my short fuse. He came to stand a little closer to me.

'So you have a thing for the copy ninja.' He said as I gave him a dark look. Diedara held up his hands. 'All I was saying is good luck. We have a lot of information on that guy and we've never once seen him with another female. We all thought he was gay.' My eye twitched as the branch under my hand broke in half. Diedara took a step back from me as I turned to face him.

'Listen, I already feel terrible for making him think I'm in danger and have him feel like he's lost the one precious thing he has AGAIN. Plus I have now sent them on a wild goose chase after me so we can use them as BACKUP if things go awry against Orochimaru. No he is not gay otherwise he wouldn't be interested in me he'd be interested in Itachi-sensei!' I snapped as Diedara looked terrified. He bowed.

'I'm sorry for pissing you off!' He stated and ran back to camp. I sighed and broke another branch in half. The dry wood cracking under my hand made me feel better as I felt Itachi's chakra behind me. In a single movement I blocked his blow with the piece of firewood I was holding. He attacked with a kick as I jumped and blocked three punches. Itachi's sharingan was on as I used my version of it. It was difficult as the spinning of the commas made me slightly dizzy before I saw and caught all of his taijutsu attacks. I had known from pervious training as a child that Itachi had an insane amount of chakra and could keep fighting for hours if left to it. I bent into a back walkover and lashed out with my foot as Itachi tried to attack my side with a well placed punch. I turned on my one hand and pushed off turning mid air to land on my feet. Itachi went for another kick as I blocked with my arm and attempted to hit his head. He blocked with his hand and held twisting my arm painfully until I kicked out at his hip. He was forced to let go as I took a step back before he went into a series of insanely fast kicks, punches, and grabs. I evaded most and blocked the rest as only two hit me. He had my arm again as I reached out to punch him, he blocked and tried to sweep my feet out I jumped using his chest as a springboard and back flipped landing on a branch as my teacher came to stand just below it.

'Very good. You've been practicing I see.' He stated as I nodded. My pulse was racing as I sat down on the cedar branch. The sharingan portion of my eye was still activated and tracked Itachi's every move as he waved for me to come down from my perch. I landed with a thump as my feet met dirt. He looked at me and my now purple comma spotted eyes.

'What technique are you going to teach me?' I asked as he seemed to assess me. Staring into the sharingan was no easy feat when you yourself possessed them. It was like looking at the sun, it hurt incredibly because both sets of eyes were trying to track the fact predictable movements of the others body.

'I want to see your genjutsu. Some patrol ninja are on their way here, use it on them. We cannot be discovered.' He stated as I gulped. I hated using genjutsu, it was cheap really. Killing someone by making them go insane was not appealing to me. That was why I usually only used it to confuse people not actually kill them like Itachi did. I heard the whispers of feet in trees as the two leaf ninja dropped into the small clearing our fight had made. I didn't recognize them, they must've been chounin as they both looked terrified when they looked into our eyes.

'You're on Fire country land!' the one stated as I gave him a pitying look. He couldn't have of been more than 17 as he stood strong. His partner looked like he was going to pee himself at any minute. They were both young and looked like twin brothers with long black hair one worn in a plait the other in a simple tie.

'We know.' Itachi stated as the other eeped and hid behind his brother. The commanding one seemed to grow angry.

'You must leave immediately or come back to Konoha with us.' The boy stated as Itachi gave a dark laugh.

'No I don't think we'll do either. I said I was never going back to that place.' He spat as the boys suddenly looked terrified as the sharingan blazed.

'Itachi Uchiha' they whispered as Itachi gave me a look. I looked at the two boys my eyes becoming dark purple and the commas spinning. They jumped and stared at me as I pointed at them.

'Forgive me.' I stated as twin screams filled the air. I saw the illusion they went through, with my illusions I really hated myself. I was too much of a coward to invent my own illusions so instead I pulled their worst nightmare forward and tortured them with it. In reality the boys were dead in seconds but to them it must've lasted a life time.

Itachi seemed satisfied as he turned from the little scene and left for camp. I knew he was impressed with my progress, I was a deadly ninja and I hated myself for it. I checked on the boys. They were both alive but just, their heart beats were slow and their breathing was so light it was barely detectable. I did the only thing I really knew I nicked my thumb on Akane and put a red X on each of their foreheads and made the seals for a transportation jutsu but I modified it slightly with a snake seal instead of a boar that would take the bodies but not myself back to Konoha. It had been a jutsu I developed when we needed to send comrades bodies back to Rin but didn't have the time to drag them all of the way back. I knew it would be taxing because we were about two leagues from Konoha but it was worth it.

I pictured the lobby of the hospital as I heard shifting behind me. I put my hands on the boys as the disappeared leaving twin heaps of snow in their wake. I felt exhaustion wash over me as I was jerked to my feet.

'That was stupid.' Itachi sounded annoyed as I was dragged back to camp. He let me go before stooping and grabbing a bundle of twigs and branches and stalked into camp. I sighed and grabbed my bundle that had been dropped when Itachi had insinuated he pick a fight with me. Stupid really but who knew why Itachi did anything. I stepped into camp as Kisame looked at me with curiosity. I was covered in dirt from the sparring but it was probably how tired I looked that had him curious. Diedara and Sasori stayed away from me as I ate the leg of whatever Kisame had caught and went straight to sleep at the base of a poplar tree, ignoring the rest of the brigade for a reprieve of even a few hours before the running began again.

Hey sorry this ones late, I've been rather busy over the last few days and haven't had a chance to type (hehe!) I promise there is method to the madness that seems to be following.

And for fun here's another random thought: If a fat man falls in the forest…. Do the trees laugh?


	16. tuna casserole

This was utter bullshit. We had been running all day, my legs were tired. No one was talking to me or when I tried to start a conversation it died before three sentences could get past my lips. Itachi was a hard ass and wouldn't talk to me therefore no one else was willing to piss of my elite brother so they kept quiet. I should've given him a swift kick in the ass. Man I was feeling violent today!

We slowed our pace as the trees thinned and the terrain became more tedious with huge mountains that we had to scramble over and around. Most of the ledges were shale and hard enough to stand on without being hurried along by a pack of elite ninjas. I sighed and prayed to god that we were close to the safe house as we rounded the sides of one of the shale hills. Perched high up looked like an abandoned monastery. Great I was going to be living in a beaten shack in the mountains for the next little while. I looked down to see a little town in the valley below. I saw people milling about and setting up what looked like a festival as they disappeared from view behind one of the cliffs twists that hid the monastery from the village below.

We stepped up the creaky stairs as Tobi came bounding out and wrapped me in a hug.

'YUKI-SAN!' He proclaimed loudly as I laughed and hugged him back. He was oddly affectionate but I seriously needed a hug at that moment. Diedara grumbled something before Tobi dragged me into the house. The odd thing was, the monastery looked the exact same on the inside as the last house did. Except that some fixtures like the ceiling and walls were stone and not plaster.

'We modified the building to look similar for convenience.' Sasori said at my look of wonder as it actually made a great deal of sense to try to make all of your homes look similar. I wasn't really tired as I went to set my pack in my own room. When I found it I stripped off my cloak and shoes and tossed my pack onto my desk. I hoped Kakashi had found the scroll I had left for him. It really bugged me that I hadn't seen Nori when Kakashi had found me. Where was she? I could summon her I guessed but that would leave Kakashi and the others missing a key lead.

On the other hand I missed the great sarcastic animal. I wondered if Pakkun or Yasu had annoyed her enough for her to kill them yet. It was an interesting thought. I opened my window to see the same koi pond that was at the last house. The water shimmered as a breeze blew in it smelt of mountain air and pine. It was quite relaxing as I sighed and too a seat in the window frame and looked at the various open windows around the square pond. I noticed Hidan was here in his room doing some kind of praying as the distinct tang of sandalwood reached my nose. I really didn't like sandalwood too much it always reminded me of grave and death. The next few windows were closed as I noticed Sasori had one of his shutters open and was painting something on his desk. It looked like a wooden doll, I hadn't known Sasori was an artist. I turned and looked to my left. Itachi had his window open and seemed to be reading on his bed because all I could see was his head and the corner of his book and pillow. Kisame's windows were open but his room was empty and Samehada was lying against his bed where his pack was set.

'Hey Yuki-san, Hm' Diedara's voice made me jump as he leant against my window frame from the porch. I put a hand to my chest.

'Don't do that you scared me!' I laughed swatting his blonde hair. He shrugged and looked around the small pond.

'It's a really nice pond isn't it?' he asked as I nodded. He seemed to just want to talk as we sat there in silence for a few minutes. I glanced back over at where Kisame was to see him walk into his room in just a towel. I looked away as Diedara went red and threw something at the shark man's window. 'Jesus, Close you freaking window NO one wants to see that Kisame-san!' He roared as Hidan looked mildly annoyed at the interruption as Itachi got up and stuck his head out the window. Kisame grinned and dropped the towel as I was glad there was a conveniently placed tree bough in my line of sight. Kisame was definitely a nice looking guy if you were into overly muscled. Save for the fact that he was blue all over and had some weird ridges on his back that looked like his spine was stuck out too far. I clapped a hand over my eyes. Think about Kakashi, no wait bad idea!

'GAH MY EYES THEY BURN!' I yelped and fell from the window to my bedroom floor. Diedara burst into laugher as Hidan slammed his windows shut. Itachi merely shrugged and went back to reading as Kisame laughed and I guessed he got dressed. I rolled from my position on the floor as Diedara laughed and invited me to the kitchen.

Tobi was amazingly not in the kitchen but it turned out that Hidan was watching TV. Diedara invited me to play a game of mahjong. We were halfway through the game when Kisame strolled in wearing nothing but a pair of pants. Funny enough I noticed he had darker blue tattoos like stripes that went down his back and across his arms. I moved one of my pieces and claimed Diedara's as he groaned. I was playing slowly seeing as Diedara didn't seem to be that good of a mahjong player. Kisame dropped to the floor beside me which ended up with everything in the room jumping from the weight. Everyone seemed accustomed to it as Diedara steadied the game board.

'I don't see why you play this game. Checkers is so much better, as is monopoly.' He grinned his pointed teeth kind of freaked me out. Just a little. Hidan laughed.

'The only reason you like Monopoly is because you steal money from the back jackass.' He stated as I giggled. Sounded like something Kisame would do. The shark man shrugged.

'Hey, I'm an S-class criminal stealing fake money is a breeze!' he joked as we all shared a laugh. It was good to be with these guys even if I did still feel terrible about Kakashi. I sighed and excused myself. I could feel them watch me go as I felt hot tears spring into my eyes. I cursed myself, Ninja did not cry! Even kunoichi didn't cry because crying was weak. I slid into my room and shut the window. There wasn't much in my little room as I lay down on my twin bed. It was soft and the pillow was fluffy but it just wasn't home.

It didn't smell of Kakashi or of orchid laundry soap.

There were times I hated my brain as I sighed and rolled over onto my stomach and drew little designs on the small headboard. Home seemed so far away, I knew it was only a few leagues away but without knowing where Kakashi and the others were it felt like I was on another planet completely. I felt so bad about tricking Kakashi into thinking I was in danger. I hoped someone found the scroll addressed to him at least it would explain some of this mess even if it wasn't found I was sure Kakashi wouldn't give up until I was safe in his arms.

I sighed remembering his hurried kiss in the middle of the battlefield. That had definitely been a little random but still it was nice. I guess he really did miss me as I felt sick because of what I'd done to the man.

'I hate myself' I muttered moving so my head was resting on the flat mattress. Staring at the far wall I noticed the stone was completely flat and even not a ripple or dent in the completely smooth surface. Sasuke's pissed face flashed in my mind as I groaned and rolled covering my head with a pillow. I was an assassin, I've killed at least a hundred people in my short life maybe more. I probably had a bounty on my head worth a fortune and what was bugging me? Upsetting my family, friends, and boyfriend that was what bugging me not the fact that I nearly sent two teenaged boys to their death with mental trauma but the fact that I had tricked my friends.

I had serious problems.

I sighed and sat up. I might as well get some practice with Akane in. I had been slacking in the last few months being in Konoha. I really should've spent more time training in my spare time not going to Kakashi's and playing with the dogs or cooking for the trio or talking with the other jounin. I sighed and grabbed Akane from where I had left her beside my pack. The hallway was quiet as I closed my door behind me. I walked back to the kitchen where Sasori was watching TV. I put on my boots as Sasori glanced at me before going back to his show.

'Itachi-san would be upset if you ran off.' He said as I sighed.

'I'm just going out for some training. I'll be back around sundown.' I stated as Sasori nodded. I knew that he felt confident in letting me out of his sight as something shimmering behind me caught my eye. Chakra strings. Of course they wouldn't let me leave without some kind of tracking device. Sasori must've planted them while I had been putting on my boots. I guess I really was a prisoner.

The trail was dusty as I walked around the house, on the eastern side there was a set of crude stone steps that led up the side of the mountain twisting and turning. I started climbing, the stairs were easy to walk and were well worn. I assumed someone other than me had used this path many times before. Within ten minutes I reached a plateau that overlooked the valley. It seemed that this mountain was the tallest for miles as I could see the green landscape stretch out and in the distance the blue jagged line that I assumed was the coast. I turned and headed back up the cliff until I came to the top. There were some sparse patches of grass and a few very beaten trees. There was a crude white circle on the ground as well as a great deal of scuffs and gouges out of the ground. I pulled Akane from her sheath as I moved into a starting pose. I did a few basic lunges, then moved through some flexibility exercises where I had to keep my main organs blocked while moving. Next I attacked the beaten looking tree. I kept my eye on the tree as I danced, lunged, blocked and parried blows with the tree. If anyone was watching they probably would've just seen me jumping around like a lunatic brandishing a flash of silver.

I had been told that watching me dance was like watching a crazy modern dance routine but I didn't believe them. I back flipped and reached over taking a branch of the dead tree clean off in a single swipe. I slid down as I clamed my pulse and took off my cloak. It was amazingly warm even up on this cliff as I stood and started moving through some stretching exercises. I stretched my leg up over my head and reached back grabbing my ankle keeping Akane balanced in my right hand. I held the pose for a minute before shifting letting go of my ankle bending backwards into a bridge setting Akane on the ground as I kicked over bringing my leg straight as I lifted Akane parallel to my leg. I slowed my breathing as I shifted into more poses letting my mind relax and only hearing the whistle of the wind as it moved through the dead branches of the trees.

I was in a handstand with my one leg stuck out to the right, and the other straight up as I heard a thump behind me. I ignored them as I shifted positions so my one leg was on the ground and my arm and leg with Akane in my hand was parallel to the ground.

'What are you doing?' the simple sentence made my eyes snap open and my balance diminish as I turned and flipped my leg over so I was now facing my attacker. It turned out to just be Diedara and Kisame as I sighed and straightened myself. I rubbed a sore muscle in my side, it had definitely been too long since I had trained if that simple jump had cause my side to be sore.

'Hey guys what brings you up here?' I asked as they shrugged.

'Bored.' Kisame said as Diedara gave him a dark look. 'Oh and Itachi-san wanted me to give you some sword practice.' Kisame covered as Diedara gave me a grin. Ah so they were volunteered as babysitters for me. Interesting. Well I needed the practice and if Kisame could swing that behemoth of a sword fast enough to block my little katana.

'Alright then, Kisame-san lets see how fast you can move that wrapped behemoth.' I grinned as he pulled said weapon forward.

'You better keep your wits about you.' He stated as I pushed chakra into my eyes. I noticed the design of the sword. It was a chakra drainer, then I'd have to rely on taijutsu which sucked for me because Kisame was huge! I moved first, pushing chakra into my limbs at once to increase my speed. Itachi's technique was fast as I feinted right and jumped over Kisame's sword. At the last moment I twisted and flicked my wrist as I managed to nick Kisame's arm as he blocked me. I landed and slid as Kisame ran at me. I ducked and rolled from the first attack as I jumped to my feet I blocked another swing from Samehada as I twirled and my blade slid down the length of his clipping the bandages open to reveal the fish like overlapping blades that the sword was made of. Kisame pushed against me as I let go, slid between his legs, managing to nick the back of his knee before I had to block a series of lightning fast blows from Kisame. I jumped back breathing hard as I wiped the sweat off of the side of my face. He had managed to cut my upper arm and land a very good slap of the broad side of his sword that I knew would leave a bruise.

'You're good. I haven't had this much fun since I fought against that bastard Zabuza!' Kisame laughed as he slung the massive weapon over his shoulder. I cleaned Akane off on my cloak before sliding her back into her sheathe.

'Hey, I'm bored and Sasori said supper was ready, Hm!' he called from his perch on the dead tree. A little white bird flapped over to him before he sent it a little ways away and it exploded. I jumped, so Diedara was the one responsible for the explosions. I wonder how he did it.

'Hey Diedara-san can you show me how to do that?' I asked as the blonde blinked and yawned before jumping down to join Kisame and me.

'Ne, what you would to learn how to make exploding birds, Hm?' he asked as I nodded.

'Its so cool, what are they made out of?' I asked as Kisame rolled his eyes. I elbowed him in the gut as he gasped a laugh. Diedara was absorbed in telling me all about his version of artwork. We headed down the cliff as he explained that it was white modeling clay that he molded with chakra so that when he wanted to he could detonate them anytime any place. 'So you'll give me some lessons?' I asked as he grinned,

'Of course, Hm' he grinned as Kisame reached the kitchen first. He threw open the door as a rather stomach churning smell came from the kitchen.

'ARGH Tobi WHAT IS THAT?!' Kisame yelled as I was suddenly glad for my mask. It hid some of the smell but it was still nauseating. The orange masked man held up a brown casserole dish and brandished it.

'Tuna casserole!' he grinned as I suddenly felt rather sick. That Tuna did not smell right.

'I think I'm going to me sick, Hm!' Diedara ran to the balcony where I heard him being violently sick. Sasori had run from the room and I had yet to see any of the others. Kisame ran past me as I heard him join Diedara in the vomiting. Zetsu swept in and took the bowl from Tobi and in one movement downed the entire dish of casserole. I blinked. Did he just eat that entire dish of nasty stuff? My stomach churned as I put a hand over my mouth and ran for the door. I hit the yard as a dead run before ripping down my mask and taking deep breaths of clean air. Oh man that stuff stank! I pulled my mask back on, slightly revolted at the odor lingering from the disgusting food. I made it back onto the porch as Diedara was still dry heaving. I pulled his hair back as best I could as Kisame was lying on the balcony looking green under his blue skin. I rubbed their backs as Kisame coughed which turned into a heave as Diedara groaned.

'That was the worst thing I've smelt in a long time, Hm' he said as he coughed and heaved again. I pulled his hair out of the way as he dropped to the deck his head against my thigh as Kisame did the same but his head reached my waist.

'That was disgusting' Kisame muttered as I knelt and let them lean on me as I rubbed their backs. Boys were all the same if they managed to get sick then they became the biggest sucks you could imagine.

'I think we should order out tonight.' I suggested as both men nodded. I heard footsteps and gagging in the kitchen before Itachi ran out onto the balcony. He looked like he was going to be sick as he to woofed his cookies over the railing. Kisame groaned and buried his face in my shoulder as I rubbed their backs. Itachi looked at me as he wiped his mouth on his sleeve. He leant heavily on the railing as soon Hidan and Kakuzu ran out onto the porch. Kakuzu managed to hold down his lunch but Hidan was sadly violently ill as Diedara jumped and dry heaved over the balcony.

What a mess, I was not going to clean this up.

'I think were ordering Pizza Itachi-sensei' I stated as he gave a jerky nod as Diedara collapsed against my side again.

'Never let Tobi cook again!' Diedara gasped as I rubbed his back. Kisame seemed to recover a bit as he sat up. Diedara looked a mess as I gently passed him to Kisame. The blonde didn't fight me as he leant against Kisame like a groaning rag doll. I dared to brave the kitchen as I held my breath and ran through into the hallway. I needed to find a fan as I went straight to my room. There was a small room fan as I went to the various rooms and stole their fans. Bringing them back to the kitchen I took a deep breath and dove into the room plugging in the fans and turning them on. I opened all of the windows and shoji screen doors to try to air out the place.

I returned to the porch to see Kisame looking a little less green. Diedara was lying on the floor clutching his stomach as Hidan was leaning against the wall and Kakuzu was standing looking at the rest of us. Sasori sauntered out and looked at us as I blinked. Couldn't he smell that stench?

'Sasori-san cant you smell that?' I asked as he shook his head.

'No I cant really taste or smell anything really Yuki-san' he said as I was surprised but then again the was the Akatsuki. Nothing about their abilities should've surprised me at this point in time. I sighed, this was going to be an interesting night. After spending an hour or so watching the sun set and letting the kitchen air out it was safe to go inside. Tobi had hidden himself it seemed after the tuna surprise disaster. They hadn't even eaten it and they had puked. I didn't know what would've happened if they had actually eaten it. Kisame ordered pizza from the village and disappeared after it was ordered. He said it would take about 20 minutes for him to run down and pick it up.

I laughed at the image. Ninja pizzeria. We deliver your pizza within 30 minutes and if you complain you get a shuriken free of charge. I giggled at the thought of the huge shark man carrying a stack of Pizza and wings through a forest at top speed. Diedara was lying on the couch as I managed to coax some gravol and water into him as I demanded Hidan find me a blanket or Id force feed him his own dick. He seemed to get some sick pleasure out of my insults but got me a blanket nonetheless. Bloody masochist. Kisame arrived with the pizza as Diedara ran for the closest bathroom from the smell. I think Diedara was actually sick, not just from the smell as I forewent the pizza and searched out wherever Diedara had fled.

'Hey Yuki-san do you want me to save you some pizza?' Sasori asked as I nodded. He gave a slight wave before I continued after Diedara. I found him attempting to hurl the water I had given him and the gravol and I pulled his bangs back.

'I hate my life' he muttered his face lying against the seat of the toilet. I sighed and sat beside him moving his head so that he was resting with his head against my shoulder. I rubbed his back as he gave a weak cough then lunged for the toilet as another round of water came up. Deidara was definitely ill as I felt his forehead. He was flushed and warm as he shivered at my touch. 'It's cold' he stated as I rubbed his back again. He was really sick if he had a fever this high and he was feeling this cold.

'You need to get into bed' I told him as he gave a shaky nod. I used a bit of chakra and gently lifted him into my arms he laughed as I carted him down the hall to his room.

'I never thought I'd ever have a kunoichi carry me anywhere' he giggled half heartedly as my arms felt incredibly tired even with the chakra boost. I managed to get Diedara to his room and into his bed. I had to kick clothing and such out of the way then rip all of the junk off of his bed as he changed into his Pj's. His room was disgusting. No wonder the boy was sick. Diedara flopped into his bed as I stripped off his covers and threw them in the hall. He stared at me as I stuck my head out his window.

'ITACHI-SENSEI WHERE IS THE LINEN CLOSET?!' I hollered as Kisame's head stuck around a hall corner.

'Large closet by my room!' he shouted as I nodded and managed to kick a great deal of clothes, blankets, dishes, and other odds and ends into the hall. I crossed the hall and grabbed a set of comforters and blankets out of the closet.

'Yuuuuki-san' Diedara called as I walked back into the bedroom. Diedara looked extremely green as I grabbed the garbage bucket and thrust it under his chin as another round of water came up. I sighed, this was going to be a long evening.

'Sasori, Kisame, Itachi, I need some help here!' I called as I heard feet jogging down the hall. Kisame and Sasori were the first pair into the room as I thrust the bucket into Sasori's arms and a bundle of dirty clothes and other items into Kisame's.

'Ew what is this?' Kisame stated tossing the bundle into the hall. I didn't want to know either as I threw more of the junk out into the hallway.

'This is making him sick.' I stated as Kisame took a great joy out of tossing all of Diedara's belongings into the hallway. Sasori took up a vigil by Diedara's bed giving him water or holding the puke bucket as needed. Kisame was nice enough to help me sort through the laundry and dishes. I managed to get all of the laundry into the washer and start it as Kisame brought the rancid dishes to the kitchen. I guessed all of the houses were the same when it came to Diedara. Did this kid ever clean?

I returned with a different garbage pail as Sasori exchanged his bucket for mine. Sometimes I hated being female, I got all of the sexist jobs like playing nurse. I dumped out the puke bucket and washed it in scalding water and disinfectant before returning it to Diedara's room.

Sasori had pulled up a recently excavated chair as I sat on the side of Diedara's bed. He didn't say much as I pulled out his ponytail and ran my fingers through it. His hair was amazingly soft as I started braiding it loosely. Kisame chuckled leaning on the door frame as I looked at him.

'I always wondered if Diedara puked out of his hands too, turns out he doesn't.' he laughed as I gave him a dark look as Diedara flipped him the bird. I set the gold plait aside and began rubbing his back again. I felt Kisame leave as Sasori routinely looked up from the book he was reading to thrust the bucket under Diedara's face.

'How can I still be barfing, there's nothing in my stomach!' he moaned as I sighed and left braiding my own hair so he could lean on me. I put an arm around him as he shivered. He was still insanely warm as Itachi's chakra alerted me to him coming down the hall. Sasori and I looked up as Itachi entered the room with a small bucket and washcloth. I smiled, Itachi was concerned even if he'd just say I commanded him to do it. I knew he wasn't about to let Diedara die from a stomach bug.

'Thanks Itachi-sensei' I said making Diedara sit against the wall and put the cool cloth across the back of his neck. He protested at the sitting factor and how cold the wash cloth was but I gave him my teacher look that had him silenced in minutes.

My stomach growled.

I looked at the clock beside the bed as it turned out it was after 10. Times flies when you're having fun. I got up and stretched as Sasori closed his book and looked at me with large impassive eyes.

'Ill watch him, you go eat. Itachi-san is here as well.' He stated as I nodded and closed the door behind me. I started to walk away as I heard their voices talking in the room. I hid all of my chakra flare and snuck around the outside of the room. I was within eavesdropping as I noticed Kisame was also lurking around the window. He gave me a shush sign as I rolled my eyes.

'Itachi-san do you think it is wise to have your student no less sister in the Akatsuki?' Sasori asked. There was silence.

'She is more than capable. I was going to attempt to teach her more of the sharingans techniques but I fear that she too soft and lacks the hatred required to actually kill people.' His voice was cold as Kisame looked at me. I gave him a tell-anyone-and-you-die glare as he mimed zipping his mouth and throwing away the key.

'Yes she definitely seems to have a large heart. I know I'm stepping my bounds a little here but Yuki-san seems hesitant to killing people. In her area of expertise why would killing start to bother her now after she has been trained as a skilled mercenary?' Sasori asked as I held my breath. It was a very good question, I wasn't sure that Itachi knew the true answer as to why I stopped following the necessary traditions as a ninja. I really hated killing thinking back on all of those peoples families that I had murdered some of them had even been in cold blood.

'There was an incident where Yuki-chan lost her fiancé and best friend. I haven't seen her in years but I assume that that incident was the cause of her change in mentality.' He stated as there was a stretched silence in which Diedara gave a snore and a mutter. I knew Kisame was staring at me as I waited for any more conversation.

'You told me of that event. Was it them?' Sasori asked as Itachi seemingly didn't answer but he surprised me.

'Yes. I hope I get to them first.' I shuddered at the malice in his voice as Kisame and I decided that the kitchen was the safest place away from Itachi as we moved across the garden to the kitchen.

We didn't say anything as Kisame tossed the leftover pizza at me. I caught the plate and nearly yelped at how hot it was. I guess he microwaved it for me as I took a seat next to Tobi, Hidan and Zetsu as Kisame also managed to claim a large section of the corner couch. There was some crime scene show on called Crime Spree Investigation it was interesting but everything was so dark and attempting to look frightening than it was.

Hidan's wandering hands were bruised by the end of the program as he seemed to get a rise out of it. I sighed and put my plate in the sink as I felt Hidan behind me. I grabbed a knife that was lying in the sink, turning I jabbed the knife into his shoulder as he cackled and pulled the knife out slowly.

'You really have problems.' I stated as he sighed and slammed his hands down on either side of me gripping the edge of the sink.

'And I think that I want to fuck you until you scream and beg for me to stop.' He leant closer as I bent backwards attempting to get away from him. I was starting to feel slightly afraid.

'I'll pass.' I stated as his face came closer and closer. But then he backed off suddenly as I blinked at the empty spot.

'uh, Oh too bad what I want goes against the scriptures. I'm sure Yuki-chan and I would have an AMAZING time.' He winked as I nearly barfed. Sicko. I looked at Kisame as he was rolling around laughing. Kakuzu looked at me, his odd eyes looked amused as Hidan grinned.

'For a religion that is based on murdering people I think chastity it a little extreme' Kakuzu muttered as Hidan's face turned bright red.

'You fucking agnostic, how dare you mock the scriptures! I should-'I tuned them out after that and returned to Diedara's room. I knew neither Itachi nor Sasori really wanted to look after Diedara and I was really only hired help so I should watch over him. I slid open Diedara's door to see Itachi and Sasori look up at me. They were obviously having a conversation as I smiled and shut the door.

'If you guys want I'll look after Diedara for tonight. I'm small enough I can sleep in the armchair.' I said as Itachi looked like he wanted to say something. But Sasori talked first.

'That's very kind of you Yukiko-san, you have a large heart to look after someone you barely know.' Sasori said as he past me. I blushed slightly.

'Thank you Sasori-san.' I muttered as I heard him move down the hallway. I looked up to see my brother. Diedara was snoring slightly as I moved to see if his temperature had come down at all. It hadn't sadly as I wrung out the washcloth and set it on his forehead.

'What changed in you Yuki-chan' Itachi's voice was tired as I looked up at him. His dark eyes looked at me through the gloom of the little room lit only by a paper lantern.

'What?' I asked as he continued to stare at me. 'What do you mean?' I asked as he came to stand in front of me.

'Why are you refusing to kill people? Leaving people just above death isn't any better than outright killing them. If you kill them its much better than letting them suffer after our genjutsu.' He said as I sighed, I knew it was true too. Uchiha's sharingan had the power to make people go mad. Mad enough so that death seemed like a friendly alternative. 'Yuki-chan, you know as well as I do that Yuuto-kun's death was not your fault. Do not linger in the past. Remember what you have learnt from that mission and apply it. Everyone would rather an effective ninja than a hesitant housewife yuki-chan. That is the reason I requested you to leader-sama as a mercenary.' He said as I blinked he WHAT?! I knew I had to overcome the block I had about not killing people as terrible as that sounded. But I was a ninja, an assassin, an Uchiha. I was gifted, strong willed, and strong minded. I knew that by leaving certain people alive it would only cause more distress to my loved ones, present and past.

'I see. I agree with you Itachi-sensei. I have been acting stupidly lately. Leaving certain people alive would only cause more problems and attempting to disarm them enough to make them leave us be would result in more pain for them. Sometimes death is the best and most accepting thing.' I stated as Itachi nodded before he strode out of the room.

I sighed and settled into the chair beside Diedara's bed. I looked out the window as the lights in others peoples rooms dimmed and went out. Snoring came from various locations around the house. I wonder why I never noticed the loud snores coming from where I assumed Kisame or Hidan's room was. The moon was bright and full as I felt quite lonely in the little dark room. I pulled my legs to my chest as I stared at the open sky.

Kakashi… the moonlight reminded me of his hair as I laughed at myself. How silly I was to be comparing his hair to moonlight? I shook my head dispelling my musings. I wondered where he was as I pushed chakra into my eyes. I wonder if Kakashi was at home yet. I made the hand signs as I activated the byakugan, I felt a pulse as I could see everyone's chakra flows from where they were sleeping. Sasori was the only one awake and it seemed he was painting again. It was well after midnight did he ever sleep?

I looked back at the moon as a cricket chirped. I hated crickets, they were so loud they could cover any loud movements a ninja could make in the house. I looked for the bug. It couldn't find it as I hightened my senses. If anyone was trying to sneak in on the Akatsuki thinking it was just an abandoned monastery they would certainly be surprised. I focused the byakugan on the sky as I sat with my hands in the positing of the tiger as I focused my mind on Kakashi. The byakugan was never completely clear when used at a distance and it always seemed like a dream everything being inverted into blacks and whites. I focused on his chakra, what it felt like, the colour, and how it moved in his body as I switched the hand seal to snake as my sight flew. In an instant I covered leagues, flying over the tops of the trees as Konoha's mountain flew past and my sight turned like a hawks as it focused on our little house. I wave of homesickness overcame me as I seemed to focus on the kitchen.

Sakura was making ramen absent mindedly it seemed as Naruto sat staring aimlessly at the TV Kakashi paced the room endlessly as Sasuke was reading a technical book it looked like as Nori was in her small form lying over Sasuke's shoulder looking exhausted. It pained me to see them all so distressed as I sighed and resisted the urge to try to reach out and touch Kakashi's exhausted and anxious face. I so desperately wanted to tell him it was alright, I was safe and I'd be home very, very soon.

They were talking as Kakashi draped himself over one of the bar stools. Sakura looked near tears as Naruto said something taking a defensive stance. Kakashi just put his head on the bar. Sasuke said something as Sakura did burst into tears as Naruto yelled and gave the pink haired girl a hug. It broke my heart.

'I'm so sorry' I muttered as Kakashi's head jerked up. I tried to hold back the tears as Sasuke and Naruto were now yelling a each other as Sakura tried to stop them still crying. 'I cant believe this happened' I muttered as Suddenly all I could see was crimson red. Three commas spun dizzyingly as I saw a flash of silver and an overwhelming feeling of relief slammed into me. It was utterly weird as all I could feel was relief and strangely enough an unending want to be hugged. It was so utterly strange I pulled back. My vision returned to see that the moon outside had shifted and a wind had started blowing little leaves from the maple outside in the garden. I shook myself as I looked at Diedara. He was awake and staring at me as he suddenly grabbed the garbage bucket and hurled. I got up as I noticed how stiff my legs were as my knees cracked when I stood and made my way over to his bed.

Sasori had left a large glass of water and some gravol on the desk as I handed the water to Deidara he rinsed his mouth and took the medicine from me. He sighed and collapsed against my side as I rubbed his back. Poor guy, not being able to keep even water down I moved his messy hair out of his face as he sighed into my shoulder.

'You're a mess' I teased as he gave a hoarse laugh.

'You have no idea' he said coughing as I tossed the bucket under his chin as he pushed it away. Good, he hadn't thrown up the water and medicine yet. I rubbed his back and shoulders as he groaned. 'That feels amazing, how do you do that?' he relaxed even more as I smiled.

'Being female and dealing with sick children' I said as Diedara laughed. I kept rubbing his back. Soon I heard light snore as I looked to see Diedara had fallen asleep on my shoulder. I laughed as suddenly remembered when Kankuro and Temari had become this ill as children and had fallen asleep in nearly the same position. I attempted to push Diedara back onto his bed as I felt something tugging at my waist. I looked down to see Diedara had a death grip on my waist. I smiled to myself. Cute. I wasn't about to lie down with the guy so I shifted so that I was resting against the wall with Diedara's head in my lap as I closed my eyes. It was well into early morning and I was exhausted as I drifted off.


	17. Samurai?

The shoji screen door was snapped open as I was instantly awake. I looked to see Itachi fully dressed as he tossed a pack and my cloak at me. I caught it as I noticed Diedara had moved in his sleep and was now curled around a pillow snoring. I climbed off of the bed as Itachi gave me a rather bored look.

'We have a mission meet me in the kitchen in ten minutes' Itachi stated as I grabbed my pack and ran to my room. I grabbed all of my necessary gear, showered and managed to meet Itachi in the kitchen in 11 minutes. I slung Akane across my back as Itachi gave me an irritated glance when I slid into the kitchen, crumpling the mat in the hallway.

'You're late' he stated as I nodded and bowed. Apologizing as he seemed to accept the apology. Kisame was also suited for travel as I fastened the eye hooks on my cloak and we headed out. I waved to Sasori and Tobi who were watching TV as we headed out.

'Where are we going?' I asked as Kisame ran beside me. Itachi was in the lead as we followed his movements.

'This is a scouting mission for the whereabouts of Orochimaru's castle. If we have a chance to assassinate one of them Hidan and Kakuzu will be running patrols around as back up. Zetsu is also hidden somewhere in Sound and he can help as well. Not like we need it though.' He winked as I laughed. Trust Kisame to be the optimist as we sped through the trees. My sleep had probably been the best thing in the world for me as I felt better than ever. The training yesterday had probably also loosened up my muscles after months of little use.

We said very little to one another as we raced to Sounds border. At one point we had to create clones and mask our own chakra flares because of an ANBU recon squad had been returning from thunder country. That would've been a messy and unfortunate meeting if they had tracked us. Luckily they went to check on the clones. How Kisame could mask his ocean of chakra was beyond me as we approached the border of Sound. We slipped into the country undetected as Itachi turned northwest. I had to admit I hated sound country. It was so boggy, wet and muddy. Thankfully it wasn't raining but the straw hat made my head itch especially when I was perspiring so heavily from the massive issued cloak I was wearing.

I had dressed specifically in cool layers so I wouldn't over heat and die in this climate. I had on my usually yukata, tank-mask, Sash, mesh shirt but had traded my pants for black leggings and bandages that wound up to my shins. I had lost my nice fur boots after my capture, still hadn't found them yet as I was now wearing a pair of black sandals that conveniently held little shuriken in the heel.

Itachi called us to a halt in a stand of mangrove trees as we both used our bloodline limits. I called up the byakugan's sight as I watched a group of about twenty men march through the forest. Some rode horses whereas others walked, they were samurai judging by their Katanas, tantos, and some even carried pikes or double bladed staffs.

'Samurai' I stated as Itachi nodded. We really had no issues with samurai. They were the feudal lord's pawns that were moved based upon the lord's wishes. I moved Akane so she was tucked in my sash with the blade facing upwards. It was easier to draw if I was facing an opponent at my side than on my back really. We waited for the tribe of men to pass before we continued to move. It was odd running with both the byakugan and sharingan mixed together it was like having extremely good eyesight and being able to see nearly entirely around yourself, and see the pulses of chakra in nearly everything. It was rather irritating as I shut certain irritants from my mind like the chakra pulses and the bright colours as I focused on making it absolutely certain that no one was following us.

It was like old missions with Itachi. Kisame was the brute strength Akio had, I was the brains and the talents to be a sniper, Itachi had to fill Yuuto's role as the distraction that was always underestimated.

'Do you even know where this fortress is?' Kisame asked as we stopped for a brief break. I sat in the direst spot I could find and stretched out my legs and munched on an energy bar as Itachi unrolled a map from somewhere in the folds of his cloak. He looked at it for a moment then took out a pencil and drew something on it.

'We are close.' he said as Kisame and I shared a knowing look and shook our heads. Would Itachi ever get over being so cryptic? I highly doubted it. I felt a chakra flare as I immediately looked to my left to see Zetsu moving toward us. Itachi looked at me as did Kisame.

'Zetsu-san' I stated as they nodded and the mysterious plant man emerged from the swamp. He nodded in greeting as we stared at him.

'The fortress seems to have no guards but it is heavily damaged from our last attack.' Zetsu said as Itachi nodded and started to move out. I sighed and got up from my semi dry spot and followed my teammates.

Zetsu took the lead and took us around the marsh and into the seemingly abandoned town that we had originally visited on our diplomatic trip. I looked at each one of the collapsing homes as we leapt from roof top to roof top. Most were singed, had fallen in on themselves or had burnt to the ground as I jumped over the remnants of a bathhouse. The fortress loomed in front of us as we stopped on a large broken tree a few feet in front of the dark foreboding structure.

'Is there anyone inside?' Itachi asked as I focused on the walls of the fortress. The first few walls I didn't see anyone other than a snake eating a rat on the fifth corridor from the bottom floor two halls in. I focused closer on the building as I caught sight of the samurai approaching from four clock.

'I cant see anyone so far but those Samurai are coming toward the fortress.' I stated as they all turned to watch the progression. Itachi and Kisame jumped into an abandoned house as I used a jutsu and hid myself as part of the tree. Zetsu seemed to melt into the tree as I blinked but watched the progression of samurai from my place against the tree.

They approached the main gate as we all watched from our various vantage points. I watched as the main samurai called a halt and sent one of the lesser ranked samurai forward to knock on the gate.

Why would Orochimaru be recruiting samurai?

I continued to watch as the young man hammered on the oddly still solid doors. This was very odd as the door opened. I turned to look to see someone opening the doors. So the fortress still had people residing within it. Maybe not Orochimaru but someone was there. The patrol of samurai entered into the main hall as Itachi came to stand beside me. He was using a basic camouflage jutsu as I watched the group of samurai be ushered down the main hall and into a larger room.

'What is going on?' Itachi asked as I continued to follow their progress.

'Someone let them in and they're moving into a single system of larger and larger rooms.' I reported as I watched the group be split in two and enter the largest hall. They seemed to be the only people in the building as I noticed four figures seemingly materialize out of the air itself. It was so odd as I looked for any familiarities there. I saw a quick glance of Orochimaru and Maro as Cold flinty eyes fixed on me. Suddenly my eyes were blinded b y a hot white light and it felt like someone was shoving hot needles into my eyes.

I let loose a terrible scream as I clawed at my eyes willing the pain to go away. I lost my balance from the tree branch and landed flat on my back knocking the wind out of me. I felt a jolt of painful chakra zap through me as the pain in my eyes faded to a dull throb. I chanced to open them as everything was coated in a red haze. I sat up as my eyes wept, still sore as I brushed away the tears. They seemed thicker as I looked down to see I wasn't crying normal tears but tears of blood. I stared at my hands as Itachi came into view.

'What just happened?' he asked coldly as I shook my head. I had no idea. My eyes were still extremely sore as I placed the backs of my hands over my eyes. The cool from my hands brought some relief to my sore eyes.

'I have no idea. But whatever it was they noticed I was there and managed to produce an attack.' I stated with my eyes closed and my hands against them. I pushed some healing chakra into them to take away the pain and swelling. There didn't seem to be any real damage done so it had been a genjutsu that had caused the pain. If that was a genjutsu then I had an extremely talented ninja to deal with.

'Let's get moving. Zetsu-san tell Hidan-san and Kakuzu-san that we need their assistance for this.' Itachi said as Zetsu melted away into the tree and disappeared. That guy was creepy there was no two ways about it, he was creepy. Kisame jumped down from where he had hidden himself and looked at me. I still had the blood tears on my face and had probably smeared them as he gave me a strange look.

'Genjutsu' I stated as he nodded. Itachi made the first move as he jumped up onto the main wall. I didn't see any entrances other than the massive double doors as Itachi proved me wrong by finding a hidden panel in the wall. How he knew of it I didn't know or want to know but Kisame and I followed anyway leaving the door open as a clue to the others behind us. I remembered these seemingly similar hallways as Itachi looked at me for direction. It hurt to used the byakugan or my eyes in general as I blinked more red tears I assumed before pointing to my left. Beside us and down a floor would get us to the main hall where the samurai were. Itachi signaled to Kisame as he brought his hand back and slammed it through a wall. The brick buckled like paper as Itachi and Kisame stepped through the hole. I blinked and followed as I noticed we circled the great hall coming to where I could see the samurai standing at attention. We would now be facing the samurai and behind Orochimaru and Maro as I turned off the byakugan and activated the more sharingan like part of my eyes.

Something seemed very wrong about this. Almost too easy as suddenly the floor under our feet cracked. I looked at Kisame as he looked at me before the floor as we all jumped up before the floor gave way. I grabbed the wall torch adhering my feet to the wall as Itachi and Kisame did the same. I looked down and noticed the crumbled stone beneath us as I heard hissing laughter.

'Very good Ice kunoichi, you have improved since our last meeting' Orochimaru's snake like voice hissed as Itachi tossed me something. I looked to see my dragon mask as I slipped it on as I shot Itachi a confused look. He didn't say anything as he and Kisame ran down the wall to the floor. I followed as Itachi gave me the hand signal to disguise myself and move around to the far side of the room to attack from behind. I moved in the upper corridors as I snuck around behind where I could hear the beginning of a battle. I looked to see the samurai hadn't broken formation to fight. What was going on with them? It didn't make any sense as suddenly the floor broke from under my feet. I latched onto the wall and dove to the next set of solid floor tiles.

'You cannot run kunoichi!' came a cold voice as I repressed a shudder running up my spine. Maro. I sighed and dropped to the floor drawing Akane as the samurai army suddenly dropped to the floor. I knew it. They had been puppets, dead people reanimated to draw ninja in. Smart, very smart I would have to find their puppeteer and take him out before the puppets could cause any more problems for us. I noticed Maro standing the closest to me. Kisame was engaged in a vicious battle against Kabuto as I prepared to fight the black haired man.

'Ah yes the Dragon warrior. I've heard much about your elite skills the Dragon class. Many of you seem to have unusual bloodline limits that help you along.' He was stalling I could tell as I fixed the sharingan on him. It located and fixed as I saw his slight movement as I jumped to my right landing on the wall just as a samurai puppet had sliced the air where I had been. I went in for an attack as I pushed into my speed and launched myself at him. He grinned and moved to the right as I slid and threw two giant shuriken at him. He avoided the first as the second nicked his cheek. He grinned as Hidan, Kakuzu and Zetsu appeared from where I had dropped down. I saw Maro curse as Orochimaru seemed to be going in for an attack on Itachi but then switched summoning a snake and dove right toward me at the same instant Maro flew at me. I made the seal as six clones of me appeared and took off in random directions to fight the foes as I made the seals for a lightning jutsu. I thanked the sharingan as I brought the chakra into my hand and the electricity build. I had seen Kakashi use this attack once a long time ago as the electricity crackled and fizzed over me. My clones had each conjured one as well as we all raced in dizzying patterns around the room. I focused them to the attackers as we split into two sets of three.

'CHIDORI!' I screamed throwing the balls of pure energy in a triangular pattern around the attackers. There was a curse as the electricity dissipated. Orochimaru appeared a little singed but otherwise unharmed as Maro grinned at me now holding my own attack in his hand. I paled.

This guy was a psycho! His hand was bleeding profusely as he licked the wound.

'Good, you know the little Uchiha's technique. Now show me what else you know!' he roared throwing chidori back at me. I evaded it easily enough tucking into a back handspring as I jumped and turned to face Maro. My clones had vanished as I looked the bastard in the eye. I calculated every movement of his body with the sharingan as I quickly made the seals for an ice Jutsu. It wasn't very effective for fighting him myself but I gave Itachi the hand sign. I saw him nod and get off of the floor. Kisame followed as did the other Akatsuki members as I stomped my foot and spread my chakra. Instantly all three were wrapped in thick steel like grips of ice as there was a deep laugh from behind me. I froze.

I dove to my right whipping up Akane as a steel armguard caught the blow denting the armor and probably bruising the bone underneath. It turned out I had caught a Maro clone as Orochimaru slipped out of my trap. Kabuto couldn't though as Kisame finished him off, his now lifeless body dropping to the stone floor. Maro pushed against Akane as I kicked him in the shin. He backed off as I swung trying to clip him. He jumped my sword as I brought my leg around in a kick. I successfully managed to get him in the head as he tried to punch my side. I evaded and smacked him hard in the back with Akane as he let out a growl and grabbed my hair. I immediately cut it as the long purple strands sliced like butter as he was left with about two feet of purple hair in his hands. He threw it to the side as Hidan attacked him. I jumped out of the way of his scythe as it whisked by just barely missing me.

I turned as I felt someone grab me and place something cold and flinty against my neck. I froze instantly as Orochimaru's yellow gaze held mine. I didn't know what was going on as I tried to move only to find myself bound so tightly I couldn't breathe. I looked down the see thick coils of snakeskin as I looked left to see Itachi holding Orochimaru in his steady sharingan induced prison.

'Itachi-sensei!' I gasped. Damn this man! I had been tricked! I tried to move my arm only to find all of my extremities had gone numb from lack of blood flow as the snake's grip slowly became tighter and tighter. I looked past the snake man as there was a snarl of pain before crazed laughter filled the room. I looked to see Hidan with a large spike driven through his upper arm and his skin painted like a skeleton as he stood in a funny circle. Maro clutched his upper arm as it bled profusely. It was getting hard to focus as Itachi attacked the second Orochimaru the snake lessened its grip slightly as there was an explosion from the far end of the room.

We all turned to look as I noticed some very familiar silhouettes. I almost cried as Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke burst into the room through the filtering dust. They surveyed the room as Itachi continued to keep Orochimaru in his gaze. I could feel my arm slightly as I turned Akane. The snake attempted to constrict me as Akane bit into four different coils. Orochimaru let a howl of rage escape as the snake dropped its pressure from me and fled. I collapsed to one knee as I gasped in air and my breathing rate returned.

I rolled to the right just in time to see one of the samurai puppets attempt to decapitate me. So there was another person controlling the puppets. Not Maro as I had expected seeing as he was preoccupied with Hidan. Unless. I ran over, avoiding Itachi and Orochimaru and lopped off Maro's head. There was an instant of surprise from Hidan as his head too slid off his shoulders. There was pop and Maro no longer exsisted. I ran over and replaced Hidan's head on his body as he shouted profanities at me. I apologized as I saw a shock of silver from the corner of my eye. I grinned as I turned back to block a sword from a samurai.

'Yuki-chan!' I heard Naruto call as I looked left to see him and a bunch of clones attacking the samurai puppets. Sakura was smashing the samurai left right and centre as I looked for Maro. I knew that bastard was hiding waiting for the best chance to strike as Something sank into my shoulder. I growled and whipped around the see the bastard's grinning face.

'Looking for me love?' he asked as I swung Akane upward. He jumped back as I managed to split the skin on his chin. Blood dripped to the floor as he grinned. The kunai he had shoved in my shoulder had been done with dangerous accuracy. Not only was it painful but if I removed it I would bleed out quickly without quick medical attention. 'I bet you're cute underneath that mask' his sexual innuendo was sickening as I attacked. He was baiting me I knew as I kept my temper in check. Blind rage would leave me open for attacks. I saw a blur of silver as my sharingan fixed on Kakashi running at a dizzying pace past me and Maro as he threw several shuriken. I dodged at the last minute as two managed to hit Maro. He hissed in rage before pulling them out and throwing them back at their original attacker. I caught both of them as Maro looked at me curiously as I deftly exchanged them for wired shuriken. I caught Kakashi's sharingan as he nodded and I threw them to Kakashi who grabbed them and jumped off of the ceiling launching them at Maro. At the same time I used my speed and bounced off of the nearby wall throwing a different pair of shuriken but attached to the same wire.

The effect was the Maro was wrapped in the thin wire as Kakashi caught my shuriken and I caught his. In a single movement we both pulled. There was a sickening sound of ripping cloth and flesh as I looked to see a puff of smoke and Kabuto's mutilated body ensnared in the wires. Bastard. I felt something move behind me as white hot pain exploded through my abdomen. I bit back a scream as I looked down to see a Tanto protruding from my stomach. I stared at the blade as a scream came from across the room. I looked to see Sasuke's horrified face then Kakashi's surprised and terrified look. Sakura had screamed as Naruto froze. The Akatsuki also seem to freeze as there was a dark laugh. I coughed feeling the blood bubble up. Dammit it was not supposed to end this way! I wanted to scream in frustration as he moved the tanto. White hot pain shot through my veins as I bit back a scream. Oh god the agony.

'Well this has been splendid but I have what we invited you for. If you want your precious little dragon warrior back. I suggest you come after her.' His voice was sadistic as I felt rage rise.

'I'm not going anywhere with you, you psychotic masochistic asshole!' I roared steeling myself and taking a step away fro him and the tanto. It was pure agony as the blade was removed from my body. I managed to get halfway to Itachi before Maro beat me there grabbing me by the neck and throwing me clean across the room. I slammed into the wall as my head cracked off of the stone with a sickening noise that echoed all around the room. I fought to stay conscious. I fought so hard as I felt my blood ebbing from my body. The wound was more serious that I had thought as I felt someone grab me roughly and throw me over their shoulder. I fought weakly as the last thing I saw was the hilt of a tanto before my world collapsed in upon itself.

Oh yes you hate me for the cliff hanger. Sorry life has been hectic, I've been recruited to rip out all of the old sliding shower doors and replace them with shower curtains. (yay power Tools! –grin-) Any who read and review were getting close to our amazing climax!


	18. torture and insanity

When I awoke I noticed two things. One, I couldn't move my arms and two, it was freezing cold wherever I was sitting. I heard the constant dripping of water that seemed to come from the far corner of the dingy little room. There was a window set high up in the wall with little bars that I assumed led to outside but not from the angle I was sitting at. I moved my legs as they were starting to cramp to notice I no longer had shoes. How was I even alive. I assumed someone had healed me just enough to keep me alive as I noticed my arms were pinned far enough away that I couldn't make any hand seals. Bastards. But they didn't know I knew one handed seals. Ha! My mask was gone as was the upper part of my tank mask. They must've cut it away to see my face when I had been kidnapped. Unless this was some sick joke Itachi was playing on me for nearly getting myself killed.

I heard footsteps coming down the corridor as a door to my right swung open on rust hinges. It was then that I noticed the stench of the place and nearly gagged. It smelt like something had died but had bled out first as Maro stepped into the room.

He grinned and walked over reaching down to unhook my chains from the hook high up in the wall.

'You're awake good. Now we can get the information we want out of you' he grinned like a child on Christmas morning as I hardened myself. Torture. That's what this bastard had in mind. He was going to mutilate me until I told him whatever he wanted to hear. Well he would not have that satisfaction as He dragged me to my feet. I staggered a bit as he dragged me out into the hallway. It was dark and gloomy down here as we passed more unmarked rooms before he pulled me into a small room. He hung my chains on another peg as he walked around me. I left like lamb before the wolf attacked as I noticed him pull a wicked looking blade from his side.

'Now tell me where the Konoha Forbidden jutsu scroll is and you would have to get any more nasty scars on you body' he said as I glared at him.

'Even if I knew where it was I wouldn't tell you' I spat as that earned a nice cut down my back. The cut burned as I bit back a shout. He seemed to get some sick amusement out of this as he began his circling again.

'I'll ask again. Where is it?' I glared at him.

'I don't know' I bit out. Another long agonizing cut he seemed to draw into my back. He sighed and lifted my chin with his blood stained hand as he made me look at him.

'You're so beautiful. Like a butterfly, I really don't want to hurt you but if you don't tell me then we have to keep playing this game. Why don't you tell me?' he almost sounded sincere as I bit back the urge to spit on him.

'Because I don't know where it is in Konoha.' I stated as that earned me a cut across my hip as I sucked in a breath as cursed his entire lineage back to the damn of time silently. Silence was the only real way to enrage your tormentor.

'You lie, where is it?' he hissed as I bit out another no. He carved something into my back as I felt my body start to shake from the exertion. The cuts weren't deep but they were painful. I was so glad he didn't know about my bloodline limit as he asked again. The same answer was no. It seemed like each time he drew something new on my back. I wasn't sure how long this torture went on for. It seemed like days as he seemed to trace the same raw characters in my back every time I gave him an unsatisfactory answer.

Eventually I collapsed panting to my knees as my arms took the brunt of my weight. It was insanely painful as my wrists were cocked at awkward angles.

'I think this is enough for today. We shall continue our discussion tomorrow. But remember my little butterfly. My patience only lasts for so long' he threatened and dragged me back to my original cell.

I collapsed against the wall and sagged to a position where I could lie down without my back touching the floor. This place was filthy and if I managed to get an infection while I was here I was doomed. I drifted to sleep hoping that if I were passed out he wouldn't bother me.

When I awoke there was a tin of water, dirty and tasting faintly of bog and a crust of hard bread. The bread was little more than a heal but I ate it anyway. I would need strength to heal the worst of my wounds and replace the water I had lost through blood and sweat. The carvings on my back ached and stung every time I moved so I lay there on the cold concrete of the little dungeon. I had no idea how time passed but everyday the psycho would show up, lead my to the little room and ask me the same questions draw the figures in my back. The sicko even had the nerve to run his hands over my hips and grope me at any chance he managed to get. His patience was wearing thin I could tell. I had no idea how to tell time in the little hole of a cell, day and night seemed the same, the food wasn't even given to me on a regular basis. It was like an after thought about food but dirty water was always supplied. They were keeping me alive if just barely. It was maddening. One thing that concerned me was the fact that the wounds on my back were not healing. They were weeping fluid now. Early signs of an infection were setting in, my muscles were cramping and inflamed and were constantly sore and felt bruised.

I had used most of my chakra in the first few days to try to keep the cuts clean and try to heal them but in the conditions I was in and the strain my body was under all the chakra I was creating and it wasn't much was going to keep my body alive. I sighed and rested my head against the wall behind me. How long had I been here? A week, a month, a few months? I didn't know there was no way to tell time here. I had long ago banished the idea of even trying to tell time it would just undo my mind more quickly than if I let time pass as need be.

It had been a while since my last beating. I assumed they were busy with something and might have of been sent on a mission or became preoccupied with the villagers of sound or other political business.

I heard footsteps on the stone outside of my cell as I cringed. I heard another set of footsteps approaching from a different direction before my door swung open. I cringed against the light of the torch as Maro and Orochimaru strode into the dark foul smelling room.

'So she can still hold her head up. I'm surprised.' Orochimaru commented as I looked at them from my spot on the concrete. My shirt was in ribbons and my shorts were filthy and covered in god knows what from the floor and my blood. Maro grabbed my chains from the wall and Hauled me to my feet. I staggered under my own weight as I felt one of the scabs on my back open and the pungent puss run down my back. It was utterly disgusting as I heard Orochimaru laugh behind me.

'Chou? You really are sadistic to call her butterfly' Orochimaru laughed as Maro chuckled and dragged me along behind him. I stumbled along smashing my shoulders off of the walls and bruising my bones underneath. I was hauled into the torture room as My arms were once again slung above my head. Orochimaru closed the door behind him as I suddenly felt rather ill. Maro was one to deal with but Orochimaru was another bucket of fish altogether. Maro circled me as usual but I noticed he didn't have his usual blade with him. This did not bode well for me.

'Well I think we all know your answer to where the scroll is hidden but just so Orochimaru knows I'll ask once. Where is the scroll kunoichi?' he asked as I watched him. I fixed him with a level stare.

'I don't know' my voice was dry and hoarse as his eyes narrowed. In an instant it felt like fire was coursing through my body. White hot pain seared my nerves. I held in my scream as I thrashed wildly trying anything to dispel the pain. I wasn't too sure how long it lasted before it vanished leaving my body weak and me panting. I shook my head. I did not want to know what those techniques were he was using.

Orochimaru stepped up and lifted my chin with his tongue before he jerked my head up to look at the silvery ropey scars that circled my neck. A low laugh came from him as he let my head drop.

'Well, well it seems that a little toy had returned to us.' He laughed as his tongue retracted back into his mouth. I was confused how had I met these men before? Maro circled me as he brushed the side of my hip. I felt a kunai cut deep as I hissed through my teeth. Bastard. My body was still trembling from his attack on my nerve endings as he came into my line of view again.

'Yes I remember you screaming and bawling you little head off. Oh poor Itachi-sensei' Maro grinned as Orochimaru spit at the mention of the name. I glared at both of them as Maro moved out of my line of sight.

'How that brave boy stepped in front of you to save you. How noble! Too bad either way he's dead now' Orochimaru hissed as I wanted to kill both of them. These two were the bastards that attacked us on the mountain pass. These were the men who murdered Yuuto and Akio and attempted to murder me. I glared at them as Maro laughed cold and hard as I felt him trace one of the wounds in my back. I flinched as he pushed something into it as I growled and attempted to block the pain from my mind.

'It was too bad that they died. I still remember that blue haired boy screaming your pretty little name as I throttled you with wire. Ah, it was like music to my ears' Maro put a hand on his chest like someone had just applauded him for winning a race. I glared at him and mustered as much venom in my voice as I could.

'You sick bastard. I hope you burn in hell for everything you've done.' I spat at him as his eyes narrowed dangerously. Suddenly my body felt the same pain as I bit my lip trying to keep me from screaming. I felt skin break and the metallic taste of blood flooded my mouth. I felt tears slide out from under my closed eyelids as the pain felt like it would never end. I was burning, burning in hell for the sake of information. When it stopped my body went limp. I had no strength left, my body just wanted to curl in upon itself and give up. I fought it, I would not die in this shit hole. Itachi and Kakashi would come for me. As would everyone from Konoha. I hoped and prayed they came soon.

Maro gently moved my head so I would look at him. What did that bastard want now? I hoped Itachi murdered them and tore out their hearts. It would be a fitting end for both of them.

Suddenly Orochimaru crumpled to the floor. I looked to see the surprised look on the snake man's face. I looked at Maro as a cold, sick grin spread across his face.

'What did you do to him?' I whispered as Maro caressed my face like a lover would. It was utterly creepy as he made me look into his cold flinty eyes.

'I crushed his heart. He was no longer of use to me. I now have the entire sound country under my influence. They have allied with stone and all I have to do to start a war is send a Konoha shinobi into Suna and kill one of their shinobi. It will create another ninja war that I will be in total command of.' He grinned as I stared at him. This guy completely insane! He was going to start a war just to benefit himself and get more money to make Sound rich. Sound probably wouldn't even see the money this loony would keep it all for himself.

'You're insane' I whispered as his grin just became wider.

'Not insane. A visionary.' He stated jerking my hands down from where they were suspended. I dropped to the floor where my knees cracked painfully off the dirty floor. 'Beside I now have you as a bargaining chip. I'm sure Itachi-sensei would do nearly anything to save you' he grinned and literally dragged me back to my little cell. After the door shut I collapsed onto the floor utterly exhausted.

My body was no longer cooperating to any of my commands. He had directly attacked my nervous system and most of my internal organs as I coughed painfully and blood filled my mouth. I needed to get out of here and soon otherwise I really was going to die here. What a miserable thought. As I lay there on the cold, filthy floor memories of Konoha and everyone there filtered through the darkness.

Naruto and his silly antics trying to get anyone's attention. I hoped he was happy now that he had Hinata. She was such a sweet girl with her bright blush and shy smiles. Then Sakura, always pushing herself to be better than the best, working herself silly at the hospital and being the smartest girl I knew. Sasuke, my kid brother with his cold demeanor but good heart. He was a little misguided but I blamed my crappy family politics and insanity about that. The other teens were all funny in their own little ways like Ino having to know everything that was going on, Kiba and his action before thought, Lee being so enthusiastic about everything and stoic, proud Neji. I thought of all of the jounins I had met, people who had been quickly becoming my best friends. Iruka, so quiet and calm with his sharp wit and kind smile. Kurenai, who was about to have a baby. She was incredibly beautiful and her quick temper but infallible common sense was a treat when she was discussing tactics with the others. Genma, well he was a womanizer that was all to it. Asuma with his trademark cigarette, random moments of forgetfulness and now going to be a father. Gai with his blinding white teeth and rather frightening training tactics. I didn't know much about Tsume and Anko but I hoped they were happy back in Konoha.

I lay there in the darkness drifting between various forms of consciousness as I heard someone replace my cup of nasty water and a scrap of bread. I ate it best I could with no hands as drank the water. Time seemed to revolve to slowly as I lay there. I knew I had a fever when I awoke for the fifth or sixth time. The world felt hazy like I was in a video game as I heard noises that didn't seem to connect with one another. The sound of someone humming a sweet tune, footsteps, chains rattling, cursing, more humming this time angry, birdsong, warmth, then I opened my eyes to see my dirty cup lying on its side on the cement of my cell.

I wanted to cry but my body was so exhausted all I managed to produce was a slight sob. This was utter madness I was going insane in this tiny cesspool of destruction. I was too weak to even lift my head off of the cement, I was sick with infected wounds, and I most definitely going to die soon whether I wanted it or not. I couldn't bear another one of those sessions of pain I knew if I went in there I wouldn't be coming back to this cell alive.

I heard footsteps as I waited for the door to open. The footsteps were hurried as they ran past my cell and faded heading in the direction of the torture cell. I held my breath as a group of hurried footsteps ran past in the same direction. That was odd. I lay and listened to try to see if I could hear any other sounds. Only the annoying dripping water and scurry of rats could be heard from my location. I sighed and put my head back down, maybe it was just guards changing post. But why had I never heard anything like that before in my… however long I had been down here.

Suddenly the door slammed open and Maro stormed in looking thoroughly disheveled and angry. I turned my head to look at him as he stormed over and grabbed my chains off of the wall.

'Get up' he commanded as I didn't move. He growled and jerked on the chains as I gasped at the sharp shooting pains. I attempted to get up as he hauled on the chains effectively making me stagger to my feet. He dragged me out the door as I tripped and fell. Ever muscle in my body screamed in protest as he hauled me along.

Something was wrong. Maro wasn't being as gentle with me as he normally had been. Something must've rattled his cage big time if he was this shaken up. We entered the torture room as he tossed my chains onto the hook hanging from the ceiling. I let my wrists take the brunt of my weight as my legs wobbled and nearly gave out as he glared at me. I noticed he was holding his right arm rather limply and he had cuts and burns all along his face and clothing. It looked like he had been in a fierce battle as he stared straight into my eyes.

I was beaten and broken, my body would not survive another long beating and from the looks of it Maro was ready for a long beating session. I was too tired to cry, to physically exhausted to even attempt to keep myself focused.

'This is going to be the last time I ask you. Where. Is. The. Scroll?' he hissed through gritted teeth as I heard footsteps coming down the hall. Maro looked anxious as a sly smile spread across my lips. If I was going down at least it would be in true warrior's fashion.

'Go fuck yourself' I hissed as his flinty eyes turned to steel. Instantly I felt the searing pain as distantly I heard horrible screaming, blood curdling, terrified screams of pain and anguish. I realized the screaming was me, it was so horrible as the pain vanished when the door to the cell blew off its hinges.

I had no strength left as I hung from my wrists. I opened my eyes to see fighting, my body felt completely numb as I watched Sasuke attack Maro ruthlessly with Naruto backing him up the entire way. Sai burst into the room with Sakura and Kakashi as all I could see was Kakashi's face. I tried to smile as all I felt was pain. Oh god, everything hurt so badly as I groaned and let my head fall against my chest. I still heard the sounds of fighting before someone grabbed ran to me.

'Yuki-chan, yuki-chan talk to me, stay with me' Kakashi's low voice held panic as I groaned. My weight was lifted very gently as someone unhooked my wrists. My entire body felt like a heavy weight as I was shifted against Kakashi's warm vest.

'What happened to her?' Sakura's voice asked as I opened my eyes. Everything hurt so badly as Kakashi started running. I groaned the gouges on my back were on fire as they cracked and broke under the gentle pressure of running.

'I have a feeling she was tortured for information. Yuki-chan what did they ask you?' Kakashi's voice was low and soothing as he held me like glass. I looked up at his chin as the eerie tunnels slipped past.

'Where the forbidden jutsu scroll was kept' I croaked. I was hoarse from my scream as well as from the lack as Sakura and Kakashi exchanged a look. I knew they both could see my face and the scars on my neck but neither of them said anything. I really didn't care too much at that moment in time. Kakashi had come to save me as had the others. I let out a sigh as I was jostled slightly as an explosion's shockwave buffeted us from a nearby passage. We stopped as Itachi, Diedara and Kisame came running down the newly exploded tunnel.

'Where is that slimy bastard!' Diedara spit as he looked at me. 'Yuki-san?' I paled as I gave a smile. It hurt but I needed to reassure him I was alive.

'Hey Diedara-' my retort was cut short as my body decided to hack up something. I coughed blood into my hand as I flopped back against Kakashi. The wounds on my back reopened as I felt the liquid of blood and puss stain the scraps of my shirt and Kakashi's.

'We have to get her out of here now Sakura-chan' Kakashi ordered as she nodded and we were moving once again. Then it felt like we were flying, the only thing I heard was Kakashi's heavy even breathing and the tapping of sandals on stone.

I had to keep conscious but my body was fighting so hard to make me drift into sleep. I fought as hard as I could. If I fell asleep I knew I would die. As much as it hurt pain was good, pain meant I was alive. It seemed like forever but I didn't mind. I was in Kakashi's arms and I was safe. I heard Sakura sigh as we jumped through a hole in the ceiling and I was suddenly blinded. I cried out as Kakashi placed his hand over my eyes.

Outside light. I hadn't seen daylight in so long it burned my eyes so badly I have to keep them shut even under Kakashi's hand as there was a loud explosion behind us. I was knocked from Kakashi's arm by the force of the blast as I felt my body smash into what felt like a tree. I cracked an eye open even if it was painful as I noticed I had fallen a good twenty feet and had landed on the bough of a tree.

I knew the wounds on my back had opened as I saw Kakashi fighting Maro on the roof. Sakura landed beside me as she gasped. I was lying on my stomach so I guessed she could see my back. I felt her cool hands on me as I felt her chakra poking around in my body. Normally it would hurt but compaired to the pain I had just experienced it was only a mild irritation.

'Oh yuki-chan how are you still alive?' Sakura nearly wept as I looked at her and attempted to smile.

'I'll be alright Sakura-chan' I reassured her as she cried silently beside me. I turned back to see Kakashi fighting Maro on the roof. Itachi, Kisame, and Sasuke had appeared as they attacked them as well. I didn't see Naruto or Diedara as the two appeared beside me on the branch suddenly.

'Sakura-chan is she alright?' Naruto asked as Sakura shook her head. Naruto and Diedara looked at me. I gave a weak smile, I had survived this long I was damn well going to keep living if I had just survived torture of that degree.

'MOVE!' came the command as Diedara grabbed me and jumped from the branch. It exploded as we landed on the ground. Diedara tucked into a roll with me against his chest as Maro jumped down in front of us. He looked close to death as he stared directly at me.

'You're come to hell with me!' he roared as I grabbed the first thing my hand landed on. Unfortunately for Maro it happened to be some of Diedara's exploding clay. I threw it as the sticky substance landed on the man's face. He laughed and strode closer to us as Diedara let me go and put his hands in the tiger seal. I gave a humourless laugh.

'Say hi to Orochimaru and Satan for me you sadistic bastard!' I snapped as Diedara activated the clay. There was a large explosion as blood flew through the air. I watched as Maro's body crumpled not only had his head been blown off but there had been numerous weapons impaled into his back. I spat on his decapitated body as Kakashi returned to where I was lying.

'Yuki-chan are you alright?' Kakashi asked as I gave a slight nod. In all truth I was in extreme pain from my little stunt. I looked at the Akatsuki members as the Konoha shinobi kept their distance from them.

'Itachi-sensei thank you. You too Kisame-san, and Diedara-san' as all the leaf shinobi looked at me like I was crazy. Diedara looked near tears as Itachi gave me a nod.

'Hey get better, we'll look you up sometime.' Kisame grinned as I gave a painful laugh. I had no plans on dying anytime soon. But my body might have different plans if I didn't get medical attention soon. Kakashi bundled me up in his arms as I looked at the Akatsuki members. I was sad that I was leaving them but I knew that if need be I could count on them if I was in a bind.

'Until we meet again' Itachi nodded as I gave him a smile. Then we were running. Kakashi was definitely the fastest as the trees streaked by at an unnaturally fast pace.

'Yuki-chan keep talking to me' Kakashi panted as I attempted to form a coherent thought.

'I thought I was going to die in there' I croaked as Kakashi's grip tightened and his pace seemed to increase that much more.

'I'm sorry I should've been faster' I sounded near tears as I shook my head. He shouldn't be sad. It was my mistake.

'Not your fault' I muttered as he sighed. 'I got caught. Stupid for a kunoichi really, stupid of a dragon assassin' it was getting harder and harder to focus. Everything was beginning to feel like a video game again. Surreal, the pain was beginning to lessen as I had to fight harder to feel it. To know that I was going to live, to stay alive I had to fight the feeling of weightlessness that threatened to ensnare me with its promises of no more pain.

'Were almost to Konoha Yuki-chan just another three kilometers' he promised as I nodded. I was fighting unconsciousness as my body was wracked with more coughs. Blood was speckled across the front of Kakashi's vest as my lungs started feeling heavier than they should.

'Kakashi-kun, thank you for never giving up on me. I'll try not to give up on you' I managed to choke out in some semblance of a sentence as I saw something crystalline drop from both of Kakashi's eyes. They hit me in the face as I tasted salt, he was crying. I never knew Kakashi could actually cry he always seemed so strong. Did I have that strong of a connection with him? I noticed the trees were thinning as the main gate flew by and suddenly we were in the emergency room of the hospital.

'Nurse!' Kakashi cried as suddenly I was being set on a stretcher and Tsunade was beside me as we all ran along a brightly lit corridor. There was the buzzing of talking as I saw Kakashi holding my hand. I looked up at him and smiled.

'I love you Kakashi-kun' I muttered as he let go of my hand and I was pushed into the operating room. They fitted a mask over my face as everything I had fought for was swallowed under into the black abyss.

I know you hate the cliffhanger but I will update soon! Read and review please!


	19. Hospitals and updates

beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Hiss. Click. Hiss. Click. Hiss. Click. Hiss. Click. Hiss. Click. Hiss. Click.

I opened my eyes to the darkened hospital room. I was so tired as I noticed all of the tubes stuck to my skin and wires stuck to my chest and arms. My body still hurt but now it was more of a dull ache as I noticed the complex number of Iv drips beside the beep of the heard monitor and the hiss click the respirator made each time I inhaled. I looked around the room it seemed that I had my own hospital room as I noticed the mop of grungy looking silver that was slumped over my bed near my hip. A slight smile came to my face as I shifted just enough that I could run my hands through his hair. It was tangled and greasy sticking out at even weirder angles than normal.

He sighed in his sleep as I gently removed his forehead protector and set it on the little table beside my bed. I lay back and closed my eyes continuing to pet Kakashi's long hair as I heard the door slide open. I stopped moving as Kakashi stirred. I knew the chakra presences as Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke and Iruka filed into the room. I felt Naruto approach the sleeping jounin as he gently shook him.

'Hey Kakashi-sensei we brought you some food.' He stated as the silver haired man sat up and moved away from me. My hand slid back to the bed as a feeling of panic seemingly over took me. I took a deep breath as it registered on my breathing monitor and heart monitor as everyone froze before it went back to its normal rhythm. They seemed to relax as I heard the chair he was sitting on scrape back.

'Thanks Iruka' Kakashi muttered as the scraping of chopsticks on porcelain filled the room.

'Why don't you go home Kakashi-sensei? Yuki-chan has been unconscious for two weeks from the extensive damage that was done. We don't know if she'll ever wake up from what happened to her' Sakura sounded bitter and upset as Kakashi gave a deep sigh.

'I'm not giving up on her' he stated as the room fell silent. I decided I had enough of charades as I opened my eyes and looked at all of them. No one noticed me as I caught sight of Kakashi. He looked exhausted and too thin. His already pale skin was now an unhealthy pallor, he had dark rings under his eyes and he looked like he had lost weight. I felt bad for making him suffer so as I locked eyes with Iruka. A grin split the young man's face as I then looked as Sasuke who actually smiled, then Naruto and Sakura who all looked like Christmas had come early.

'eh? What are you all grinning at?' he asked sounding distinctly confused as I leant forward until I was just beside his ear.

'I love you Kakashi-kun' I whispered as he turned around so fast we knocked our foreheads together. I let out a few choice words as everyone burst into laughter. The mood in the room had lightened significantly as I was enveloped in a hug and a kiss on my forehead. It was quite nice that the nurses had placed a surgical mask over my nose and mouth and had bandaged my neck so no one could see. I knew I was covered in bandages as I felt them shift against the hospital gown.

'She's alright Yuki-chan is alright!' came the chorus as I was being hugged on all sides. It was wonderful to feel so safe and welcome as Kakashi held my hand even after they had all taken up seats around my bed.

They told me how Neji had found the letter and taken it straight to Kakashi. He admitted he had been surprised that I would ally myself with the Akatsuki but once he had read the explanation he had reported the new information to Tsunade. She had agreed that it would be beneficial to aid the Akatsuki if this was the plan of Maro and orochimaru. We had all spit at the mention of those names. So after the battle where you were kidnapped by the psycho Itachi actually approached Kakashi and explained what their mission had been and what it had now changed into. Sakura told me that Diedara had explained to her that Itachi had been my teacher back in Rin and that all of the Akatsuki loved me like a sister, even leader-sama. Leader had released me once I had been returned to Konoha but on the terms that if I was needed they would call on me if it had nothing to do with Konoha. I was vastly becoming a popular person liked by villains and heroes alike.

They also explained that my injuries had been so severe that Sakura, Tsunade, Ino and a team of skilled medical shinobi from Suna and Konoha had worked on me for a solid six hours before I was stable enough to just let me rest. According to Sakura I had been in and out of surgery for the first week nearly everyday to repair damaged organs, nerves, arteries and veins. My skin would sadly forever disfigured with the kanji for 'Butterfly' on my back. It had been carve so deeply that one more round and it would've hit bone. I also had blood poisoning from the infections of my wounds from the dirty cell.

All in all it was a miracle I was alive.

The door slid open as Tsunade strode in wearing scrubs and a white coat. She seemed surprised that I was awake and talking, sitting up on my own but hadn't torn out any of my life support systems.

'Well I see our miracle ninja pulls through another near death experience' she teased as she gave me a brief check over. She seemed satisfied by my progress.

'How long will she be in hospital for?' Naruto asked as Iruka gave him a silencing look. Tsunade looked at my charts and thought about it for a bit. Everyone seemed to hold their breath as Kakashi rubbed a thumb over the back of my hand as I gave his hand a squeeze.

'I will have to keep her here for another two days Naruto-kun. After that I will release her into Kakashi-baka's care and we'll see how long it takes for her body to recuperate from that savage beating she took.' She said before she gestured to Sakura that she wanted to talk to her. The pink haired kunoichi followed Tsunade from the room as Kakashi took a seat on the bed beside me.

'So what are the Akatsuki like?' Naruto asked jumping onto the end of my bed. He peered at me as I smiled. I had missed Naruto and his in-your-face attitude. Sasuke seemed interested as he came to stand by my side as he put a hand on my shoulder. I smiled at him as he seemed to relax a little more. 'Yuki-chan?' Naruto asked as Iruka also approached me and sat on the foot of my bed. I shook my head and looked at him. It seemed my attention span wasn't very long anymore.

'The Akatsuki, well in reality they're just normal people like you and me. Sure they've all had a bit of a rocky past that has led them to where they are and some of their motives might not be the most ethical but they're still just people.' I said as Kakashi gave me an eye smile. Sasuke seemed a little miffed as I looked at him.

'I never knew Itachi was your sensei, did he never tell you about what he did here?' Iruka asked as I looked at the sheets remembering what Itachi had told me all of those years ago.

'Itachi-sensei did what he did for the benefit of Konoha. Did he regret it, no he didn't regret it but did he feel bad for leaving Sasuke-kun to deal with all of the shit in his wake? I believe he blames himself more than anyone will ever know. Itachi-sensei is a quiet guy and it takes a great deal of trust and years of hard work for him to trust you enough to even tell you if he likes his potatoes mashed or whole.' I stated as everyone seemed to let this information sink in. I looked at Sasuke. He didn't seem to take this news with any great deal of emotion as I put my hand on his. 'Sasuke-kun I know Itachi-sensei has tried to stoke an immense hate for him in you. The only reason for this was because he believed that if you lived with the goal of having him to kill then at least you would have something to focus on to survive. I know he blames himself so much for our fucked up family but the least you can do is give up this ridiculous hunt for him.' I stated as Sasuke just looked like his stormy self. He didn't say anything and I didn't expect him to as I lay back on my pillows.

Everyone surged forward as if to catch me as I gave them a strange look.

'I'm fine. Just tired' I stated as they sighed and relaxed a little more. My back was itchy from the scabs and fatigue was setting in as I felt someone run their fingers through my hair. I looked to see everyone but Kakashi leaving as Naruto and Iruka waved.

'We'll bring you some food when we come back!' Naruto promised as the door slid shut behind them. I sighed and settled against the pillows as Kakashi continued to hold my hand. I turned onto my side to look at him as I reached out and lifted his forehead protector. He kept his left eye closed as I smiled and traced the long ropey scar over his eye.

'I missed you' I whispered as he leant into my hand. He didn't say anything as he kissed my palm through his mask. I grinned as I patted the bed beside me. He looked confused as I rolled my eyes, he knew what I meant as I shifted over to let him on the bed. He smiled and lay down beside me as I snuggled against his chest. He had removed his vest as my cheek rested against the soft fabric of his shirt. He was so warm as he hugged me closer to him, it was an amazing feeling as I felt more drowsy.

'You should sleep. It'll help' he said as I gave a weary nod and let myself relax against him. He really did need a shower but I wasn't complaining as long as he was here was all that mattered as I drifted back to sleep.

I awoke later to find Kakashi was no longer lying beside me. Panic gripped me as I heard my heart monitor jump wildly as I looked around the room. I took deep breaths to calm myself as Ino ran into the room wearing scrubs. I looked at her as I tried to calm myself. Obviously being stuck in that dungeon had left me with some serious psychological problems.

'Yuki-chan are you alright?' Ino asked as I shook my head no. I pulled my knees to my chest and buried my head against them as I tried to calm my overwhelming sense of panic. Ino approached my with a needle and syringe as she put the clear fluid into my I.V line. Soon I started to feel the edge of my panic dissipate slightly as Ino disappeared out the door. I drew in a shaky sigh. This was not good. If I panicked this badly when I was away from Kakashi I wondered what other anxieties I had developed.

Tsunade strode in a moment later and took a look at me as she sighed.

'I had hoped there hadn't been any anxieties after your ordeal but I knew it was a little far fetched at best. Listen Yukiko-san, Kakashi went home to shower and eat he'll be back in a few hours until then is there anything I can bring you?' she asked as I blinked. Tsunade was being nice to me.

'Water and maybe a TV remote?' I asked as she tossed me a remote to a TV that was in the corner of the room. She gave me a new mixture of drugs to keep me calm in case I saw anything else that would case me any anxiety. Ino left me a glass of water as I sipped it and watched it rather blandly. I left it on a cartoon called Pokemon as I watched the main character run around after a yellow mouse thing called Pikachu. It made me smile as I watched the colours and the little animals fight each other with completely unrealistic attacks. It was entertaining though but sadly it was over all too soon and the only thing on TV seemed to be that stupid crime scene show that Kisame seemed obsessed about.

I watched the opening credits as I saw a girl running away from a shadowy looking group of figures. She pleaded with them as one of them grabbed her hair and threw her into a wall as the group circled around her and started beating her.

I tired to breathe calmly as I heart my heart monitor go crazy as I tried to breathe evenly of deeply as it felt like my throat was closing. I had flash backs of Maro circling me like a shark, his sick grin, faint memories of the pain. I gasped trying to calm down as it was becoming harder to breathe. At this rate I would end up passing out as I pulled my legs to my chest trying hard not to panic as I felt myself crying.

'Yukiko-san!' Ino ran in as she assessed the situation and grabbed something out of her pocket. Sakura ran in and tried to calm me down as she handed a needle to Ino. Both went into my IV bags as Sakura upper my oxygen intake. Slowly my heartbeat returned to normal as my breathing did as well. It became easier to breathe as I let go of my legs my panic attack lessening. Sakura brushed my hair from my forehead as Ino sighed and fiddled with all of my IVs.

'Sorry, we should've given you the sedatives earlier we didn't think that your anxiety would be this bad. He must've done some horrible things to you to get a reaction like this out of you' he said as I took some deep breaths to get over the dizzy feeling I was having from the panic attack.

'You saw me in that cell Sakura-chan you know how bad it was' I stated as I looked at my arms and legs. I had lost a great deal of weight in that disgusting cell my arms didn't even look like mine they were so pale and thin compaired to what they once were. I sighed and lay back against my pillows as Sakura put a hand on my shoulder.

'I'll tell Tsunade to give you some medication for the anxiety attacks when you leave. You should probably take them for up to two months after she gives them to you' Sakura said patting my shoulder and standing. Ino gave me a warm smile as I waved at their retreating forms. I lay back and surfed channels the oxygen was making me a little tired as a nurse returned and turned it down to a normal level. I watched more cartoons as the sun outside went down and was replaced by all of the towns blinking lights. I looked out my little window beside my bed to see people laughing in the streets heading home with bags of groceries or items for their families. Children were holding hands of older siblings or parents as they headed home after a long day of play.

Lanterns lit the walkways and streetlights glowed faintly further away in the suburbs. I couldn't see much past the treetops of Konoha near the city wall, I wondered where Itachi was and how he was holding up after seeing me in such a state. I would have to break out and see them sooner or later just to let them know I'm alright if somewhat weak.

I wondered when they were going to feed me as the door to my room slid open. I turned away from an episode of 'Fullmetal Alchemist' to see Kakashi closing the door with his foot as he carried what looked like a bento box. He turned around and gave me an eye smile. He had definitely washed his hair and changed as his hair now stood up completely and shone like actual silver.

'Yo' he waved as I rolled my eyes and sat up. A wave of vertigo washed over me as I groaned and lay back. Kakashi was at my side in an instant looking concerned as I waved him away.

'I'm alright just vertigo from sitting up too fast' I answered as he shifted a chair to the side of my bed. I looked at the box as he gave another eye smile and brought the tray at the end of my bed up to my side and set the red box on it.

'I know how much I hate hospital food so I thought I'd make you some lunch and spare you from the soggy asparagus' he smiled as I laughed and opened the little box. Inside was generous amount of rice shaped to look like a kitten, some carrot sticks, little flowers that I assumed were made of star fruit, there were grapes and some strawberries along with some little mushrooms that were carved out of swiss cheese. It looked delicious but I really didn't want to eat it, it was much too pretty. I was touched that he'd put so much time into food for me especially in a bento box.

'You put this together?' I asked looking at him as he seemed rather surprised that I would think otherwise. He rubbed the back of his neck as he gave a shy laugh, I assumed he was blushing as I grinned.

'Yea, Sakura-chan thought it would be a good idea. If you don't like it I could get you something different' he said and reached for the box. I swiped it out of the way ignoring the protest of the sudden movement of my muscles as I shoved one of the mushrooms into my mouth. It was really good as Kakashi laughed. Not his usual chuckle but a full out laugh. It made me smile as I set the box back onto the little tray.

'I love it' I said as he looked at me with I guessed a grin. I took a bite of some of the rice. It had a cherry flavour to it as I had some more. I knew I wouldn't be able to finish all of it especially seeing as I hadn't eaten solid food in over 3 weeks. 'This is really good. I didn't know you were artistic enough to make bento. I always eat food plain, I guess it always kind of seemed to tedious for me to make a bento' I said around a mouthful of rice. Kakashi smiled and shrugged.

'I wanted to do something nice but I was held up by a little old lady getting robbed at the bakery' he said offhandedly as I gave him a disbelieving look before going back to eating the star fruit.

'Sure Kashi-kun' I said as he blinked.

'What did you call me?' he asked as I looked at him.

'What Kashi-kun, would you rather ka-kun or scarecrow?' I asked as he shook his head and messed up my hair.

'No Kashi-kun is just fine' he said as I set down my chopsticks and hugged him. He was nice and warm and smelt like shampoo and rain as my back gave a shot of pain as I winced. Kakashi pulled back gently and looked me over still concerned. I kissed his cheek to reassure him but he didn't seem very convinced. I sighed and touched his face as he looked away. I really wanted to hit him but I tamped down on the rage. He blamed himself for what happened to me. I knew he did as I sighed and made him look at me. He stared at me as I did the least expected thing.

I slapped him. Hard.

His head flew to the right as he froze like that for a moment then turned slowly to look at me. He blinked as I glared at him.

'What happened to me is not your fault. Nothing about it is your fault Kakashi. It was my mistake and an instance where me being kidnapped and tortured was unfortunate but it did happen. The main thing is that I'm alive and you saved me from that hell hole.' I said levelly as he looked away. I grabbed his chin and made him look at me as I noticed he looked angry and suddenly years older than he should be.

'It was my fault because as commander I slipped up and didn't cover all of our plans with the group. And when you disappeared I froze up. Shinobi never freeze up. I've never frozen up before. Because of that you fell into harms way and ended up nearly dead after being tortured for information you never knew!' Kakashi threw his hands up and stalked across the room. I knew he was angry at himself. I knew it would take some time before he would realize that I was okay. I doubted he would ever forgive himself for freezing up that one time the Akatsuki had grabbed me or when had been clotheslined by Maro before he had stabbed me then run off to god knows where.

'It's not your fault Kakashi' I said quietly as he rounded on me. Cold fury was evident on his face as he looked at me.

'You did not see yourself when we found you Yukiko. I thought you were dead and that scream. Everyone was chilled to the bone, it was… like following a demon into hell. I blame myself because you could've died Yuki-chan and…' he trailed off as he looked out the window. I waited for him to finish. He didn't seem like he was going to say anything as I sighed and looked at him. I loved Kakashi with all of my heart. He was really the only strong connection I had to Konoha. I knew if I asked Sasuke would become a missing nin in a heartbeat and as sad as it would make the others they really didn't know me and the other shinobi would understand when I left because of Rin's habits.

'It doesn't matter Kashi-kun. I will forgive you if that is what you want' I said as this only seemed to make him angrier as he stalked over to my bed and glared at me from the foot.

'How can you forgive someone who allowed you to nearly die? How do you forgive someone like that? How do you forgive someone that was more of a hindrance than a help? How could you forgive someone who freezes up when faced with a hard choice? How could you forgive…'Kakashi trailed off as I looked at him.

'Someone like you?' I finished as he looked away. I knew I had hit his last question head on as his shoulders slumped in defeat. I sighed and gestured for him to come closer to me. There was no way I could walk on my own or even shift down to where he was standing. He didn't move as I gave him an amused look. 'You know I try to forgive anyone I can. I guess I shouldn't forgive you' I said as Kakashi looked like I'd just stabbed him as hurt but understanding flashed across his face. I looked out my window at the beautiful night sky outside as it reminded me of the long cold winter nights on the mountains. 'But I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't.' I looked back at Kakashi as he seemed utterly confused. I smiled then laughed. 'it's not that hard Kashi-kun!' I laughed as he came and sat near my hip.

He looked at me with his one chocolate eye that held only one question: Why?

'Because I love you Kakashi. And If I lost you, to anyone other than myself, I would never be able to live with myself.' I said as Kakashi seemed stunned before some trace of a memory ghosted in his eyes before he stood from my bed and looked out the window. I sighed and left Kakashi to think. Well at least he knew now how I felt. I had thought about it long and hard while I was dying in that hell hole and had realized it was Kakashi who was now part of my life. In fact he was almost my entire life.

At least he hadn't rejected me outright. That was a nice change. Usually boys just stared at me and either walk away, refused outright or asked if I was kidding. It was rather pathetic. I wondered what was running through his head as he opened the window. The cool breeze felt amazing on my skin as I remembered how much I had missed outside.

The wind was cool and smelt like forest with a hint of rain. I guessed winter for Konoha was over. How much time had passed? Kakashi was still looking out the window as he sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

I want to know what the hell he's thinking as he just stared out the window. I lay back on my bed as he leant against the frame. I heard footsteps approaching my room as the door slid open.

'I need to think Yuki-chan' Kakashi whispered and he was gone. The room suddenly felt ice cold as the door slid open as the window slid shut as in that instant I felt more alone than I had in my entire life. I lay back against my pillows and stared at the TV as cartoon characters raced around.

'Hey Yukiko-san' Asuma's voice called as I turned my head to look at them. It seemed the entire jounin populace had come to see me. Kurenai now looking quite pregnant, Genma with his senbon needle between his teeth, Iruka oddly enough, Anko eating some sweet dumplings on a stick, Gai looked very tired standing off to the side, Tsume stood as Nori padded in behind them. A smile crossed my face as the giant cat ran to my bed changing mid leap to land lightly in my lap. She rubbed her head against my face as I laughed and petted her.

'I missed you' I said as Nori gave a long deep purr instead of words.

'Animals aren't allowed in here so she's been living at Kakashi-kun's for awhile now.' Anko giggled as I wondered why she found that thought amusing. Nori curled on my lap intent on never leaving me again it seemed. I guessed Nori didn't want to talk with the others around especially Tsume.

'I see' I said looking up at them. Everyone seemed to keep respectable distances from me as Iruka sat in Kakashi's abandoned chair. He gave me a sad but knowing look as Anko also came to stand near the bed.

'So, we wanted to see how our little miracle ninja was doing' she grinned as I gave a little smile. Right now I didn't feel like talking but I tired my best to make them all feel better.

'So what is the Akatsuki like? Are they as vicious as they seem?' Genma asked as I looked at Iruka. It was better to keep the true knowledge of my time with the Akatsuki to myself and make up a lie. I knew it really wasn't a good idea but it needed to be done.

'The Akatsuki are really nasty and ruthless. Really the entire time I was there I was either chained in my room or doing their housework. They needed my help to fight the guy that captured me. Turns out I was just a distraction so they could knock off Kabuto, Orochimaru and after you showed up Maro himself.' I sighed as Iruka gave me a look that was surprised but then he nodded to me. I had told him the truth earlier but I think he knew the reason I told a lie to them.

'I knew they were bastards' Asuma commented as Kurenai sat on the end of my bed rather heavily. She sighed and winced as I saw something move under her shirt. It was so weird as Asuma stood beside her. She smiled at him as Gai still stood in the corner.

'What is bothering you Gai-san, you're usually not this quiet' I said as he looked at me his normal exuberance slightly there.

'Oh Yuki-san I am so upset because of the poor state of my rival Kakashi-baka. He has not been himself for well over three months and has never challenged me in any of our usual challenges. I am worried about his heath.' I said as everyone suddenly looked like someone had just killed a kitten. I even noticed Gai's teeth weren't as blindingly shiny as they usually were only glowing slightly in the badly lit room.

'Yuki-chan ever since you disappeared on that mission Kakashi has been… let's say different.' Iruka started as Anko jumped in.

'He's been down right suicidal, depressed, anxious, and removed sine you disappeared and now that you're back and alive well. We haven't seen any change. Its bugging the hell out of us. We want to know what the problem is' Anko said as Asuma sighed.

'Anko-chan you always were blunt' he laughed as Kurenai sighed and turned her piercing red eyes on me.

'Anyway, Kakashi-kun has been distraught since you disappeared and now that you're back he refuses to cross paths with any of us and disappears for long periods of time. We had Sakura-chan and Ino-chan try to track him but its nearly impossible to do so. We're worried about him Yuki-chan. We've seen him a few times and I don't think he's looking after himself.' She said looking at me. I knew something had been up when I had seen Kakashi lying on my bed when I woke up. I had no idea how deep the problem went. Nori gave a mew and dove under my bed as a nurse walked in.

'I'm sorry but visiting hours were over twenty minutes ago so I'm going to have to ask you to leave.' She said as they all gave a nod. Kurenai grabbed my forearm and smiled at me.

'Get some rest. Tsunade said you'll be released tomorrow since you haven't had any complications in the last week.' Kurenai said as Anko gave me a salute and Iruka gave me a hug before they left. Nori waited until the footsteps left then jumped back onto my bed. I hugged her as he purred extremely loudly.

'You are very brave for a human' Nori said as she looked at me with her ethereal grey-green eyes. 'I am proud to be your familiar and a friend' she gave a catty smile as I grinned.

'Thanks Nori-chan you're my friend too and I'm more than proud that you chose me of all people.' I said as Nori purred and rubbed her head on my cheek. I sighed and sat back as Nori looked at me sadly.

'Kakashi has been extremely worried about you. When you first disappeared he wouldn't stop until he found you. He was gone for a solid week before Asuma tracked him down and brought him back from his crazy track around fire country. After that he spent long hours just sitting in your room before going back to his house and either sleeping or going to get drunk.' Nori looked sad as I was shocked at how badly my kidnapping had affected him. 'He was like a ghost of his former self. I think he blamed himself. After the trail ran cold after a month Tsunade called it off saying that you were probably dead. The news hit Kakashi pretty hard. He didn't come home for a week after that so I went out with the dogs to find him' she hinted her distain at working with the canines but continued on. Not noticing I was already near tears for what he must've gone through.

'We found him and we nearly had to beat him to death to get him to come with us but we managed. I started staying with Kakashi because I knew you weren't dead. We have a connection that allows me to faintly feel your chakra at all times. You scared me in that cell with how low your levels were.' She looked at me with large concerned eyes as I nodded. It had been frightening to me as well not having enough chakra to even lift your little finger.

'how abusive was Kakashi to himself?' I asked quietly as I looked at the little cat. She looked out the window as I glanced over. There was nothing outside and I didn't feel any chakra presence as I looked back at Nori.

'Kakashi was a wreak Yuki. He didn't look after himself, didn't eat, didn't sleep, drank excessively, took extremely stupid risks when on basic missions. He was nearly suicidal at the thought of you being dead.' Nori said as I looked at the little cat. I was slightly angered that she never told him that I was actually okay the entire time.

'Why didn't you tell him that I was still alive?!' I snapped as Nori gave me very cattish look.

'Did you want him running all over this continent looking for you? He would've killed himself faster if I told him you were alive. It was bad enough when Neji returned from Suna and said he had spotted two Akatsuki members heading into River country. Within a few hours Kakashi had departed and Tsunade had to send a team after him so he wouldn't get killed. I know he found you and that little act you pulled with Itachi didn't help even though it was necessary' Nori said. I sighed I already felt horrible about that stunt but now it was like a knife in my side being twisted.

'You have no idea how disgusted and horrible I felt after that. I felt like I was less of a person even though it needed to be done' I sighed as Nori put her paw on my hand.

'I know and if you explain it to Kakashi I'm sure he'd understand. But after he saw you alive and be torn out of his grasp again I thought Kakashi really was going to kill himself. He returned to Konoha and he was really the reason why they sold the old house and moved into the Uchiha mansion. Don't worry we moved your stuff.' Nori stated as I nodded so we no longer had the little house two blocks from the hot springs. Instead we were no residing in the old Uchiha complex. I wondered how Sasuke felt about that. he was probably pissed.

'We hardly ever saw Kakashi. I followed him on a number of occasions. Mostly he went to the memorial and a few times I caught him lying in the ear lobe of some of the carved mountain heads. He wasn't the same as when you came. But when Tsunade was sent word of an anticipated attack on the northern border the group who came to save you went. Turned out the Akatsuki had found where you were being kept and needed back up. At first everyone was opposed but Kakashi made the decision to work with them to save you.' Nori looked at me her luminous eyes very grave. Unease settled in my stomach.

'That was a very risky decision. He could've been killed by any number of them! Especially Itachi-sensei or Kisame-kun!' I gasped as Nori nodded. I groaned. I was thankful for him coming after me but not making a deal with the devil like Itachi.

'Well supposedly on the way Diedara talked to Sakura about what had gone on so far with you and the Akatsuki. She reported the information to Tsunade a week ago. But when they brought you back the entire town was buzzing about how Kakashi was a hero and saved you from Orochimaru's grasp but it didn't seem to matter. You were declared dead when you hit the operating table but by some stroke of luck Tsunade and Sakura managed to bring you back. I have never seen Kakashi so close to a fit. He couldn't stay in the waiting room he actually had to leave and ran around the city for hours. When you were stable enough he stayed here in the room with you for nearly two weeks only getting up to use the bathroom and I think he showered twice. But other than that he never left your side.' She said as I nodded and listened as a nurse walked down the hall.

'hide' I hissed as Nori disappeared under the bed. The door scraped open as a red headed nurse walked in, checked my IVs and asked if I felt pain or tired or anything out of the ordinary. I said no and she left after writing something on the board at the end of my bed. Nori jumped back up as soon as she left as I gave her a look.

'Nori what am I going to do.' I told her about my encounter with Kakashi earlier as she rolled over on my lap so I could rub her stomach.

'Well thinking is good. I think you just startled him because he's felt this way for so long that allowing himself to admit it after being such a closed person is going to be a huge step for him. I think the best course of action would just be to let him come to you. You don't want him to run off thinking that he's not right for you. When you and I both know that is completely wrong' Nori ended in a purr as her hind leg kicked the air when I hit a ticklish spot.

'Alright then, I'll just let Kakashi come to me when he's ready to talk. Until then I just have to concentrate on healing and getting back to normal.' I smiled as Nori purred. I lay back and closed my eyes drifting off to sleep as Nori purred and I swore I heard a slight sob from the windowsill before I drifted into a dreamless sleep.

Sorry for the wait everyone! Exams have me running and circles plus packing to head home for the holidays and seeing all of my old friends plus partying has had me rather preoccupied. The waits for chapters may be a little longer during the christmas season but reviews will remind me to keep typing! Until then ja!


	20. Hot Springs

'Hey wake up Tsunade will be here in a minute you've slept past lunch' Nori's voice was right in my ear as I jumped and looked around. Someone had unhooked my heart monitor and breathing apparatus while I had been in my drugged sleep. Most of my IVs had been removed as well except for two. One that I knew had the anxiety suppressers mixed with it as another that I didn't know what it was for really as the door slid open as Nori disappeared leaving my lap rather cold.

'Good you're awake.' Tsunade said closing the door behind her as she pulled a little blue bottle from her pocket. 'These should help some of your anxiety problems until you feel that your anxieties have lessened a bit.' She smiled as I nodded as an idea I had been debating about came to my mind.

'Hokage-sama I was wondering if you could take me off of doing missions for the time being. I don't think in my current physical and mental state I would be a proficient ninja here in Konoha. I was thinking that you could move me to a teaching position at the academy for the time being?' I tossed the idea to her as she smiled slightly and lay a hand on her forearm.

'Iruka-san already talked to me about you having a teaching position. He thinks that having you as an assistant for awhile would be beneficial before you were given your own class. I think it is an excellent idea but if any problems arise then we'll need to call you back into service.' Tsunade looked at me seriously as I gave a nod. I understood. Then she smiled and handed the little bottle to me before removing my last two IVs from the back of my hand. She scribbled something on the folder at the foot of my bed as the door slid open and Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke came into the room. Sakura carried a set of crutches as I smiled and Nori jumped out from her place under the bed transforming into her massive natural size.

Tsunade helped me to the floor as I gently put weight on my legs. They protested at the use and were soon wobbling and hurting so badly I had to sit down. Sakura came over and gave me the crutches as I tucked them under my arms and attempted to stand again. My legs wobbled but not as badly as my muscles protested at any movement but pain was expected. I took a few steps with the crutches and made it to where Sasuke stood.

'hey nii-chan' I grinned as he gave me a smirk of a smile and Nori padded over to where I stood.

'If you get tired climb on' Nori said as Tsunade brushed past us and left. Naruto seemed sullen as I knocked into his shoulder. He looked up at me as I smiled.

'What's up Naruto-kun?' I asked as he laughed but it didn't reached his eyes. There was definitely something bugging him as Sasuke looked at the blonde. Sakura came to stand beside me as Naruto blushed and looked out the window.

'I'm worried about Kakashi-sensei he hasn't come home in the last two days' Naruto said as I sighed. He was probably hiding thinking over what I had said to him as Nori's wisdom came back to me.

'He'll be alright Naruto-kun. He has a lot on his mind since I disappeared and suddenly returned. Just let him be for a while. He'll come back home soon enough. Talk to Pakkun if you really want to make sure he's okay.' I said as Naruto seemed to brighten at my suggestion.

'Thanks Yuki-chan!' Naruto said as I smiled and giggled. He was so easy to please as I ruffled his hair. My legs were getting sore as Sakura held open the door for me.

'Let's get you home' Sakura smiled as I stepped out into the hallway. It was pretty easy going until I hit the street. As soon as I got halfway down main street I was swamped with various people saying how brave I was and how lucky I was to have someone like Kakashi protecting me. I saw a group of girls who gave me a distinctly dark look as I gave up trying to walk and climbed onto Nori. The harassment was too much as Nori cleared the crowd and took off down the street. The others followed close behind as Nori took to the roof tops. I could tell Nori was trying to keep her gait as smooth as possible but it still caused me a great deal of pain as my muscles screamed and I felt rather sick from the movement.

I was relieved as Nori landed in the yard of the Uchiha complex. It looked cleaner than when I had last seen it. There were even banners with the Uchiha symbol on them. A few people passed by the gate daring to get a look into the complex as Sasuke helped me off of Nori and Sakura handed me my crutches. I managed to get into the main house as I collapsed on the oddly placed couch.

'That was brutal' I sighed wondering why anyone would place a couch on tatami mats. Sakura handed me a glass of water out of nowhere as I sighed and sipped at the cool liquid. It felt weird drinking after having water pumped into me via IV. Nori curled up on the couch beside me taking over three quarters of the furniture. She put her massive head in my lap as I rubbed behind her ears and over her nose.

'It looked like Kakashi-sensei still hasn't come home.' Naruto announced sliding down the stair railing and landing lightly on his feet at the bottom. I raised an eyebrow.

'Since when did Kakashi-kun move in?' I asked as everyone looked at one another.

'We thought it would be better if we all moved into the old Uchiha residence so we don't have to pay rent on top of utilities. In reality this is Sasuke's and your house. Kakashi-sensei's is next door and Naruto and I are sharing the house across the pathway from this one by the koi pond.' Sakura said as I nodded. It did make a great deal more sense especially since I owned the land and didn't have to pay rent really.

'Makes sense, so how am I going to keep everyone from asking me what happened?' I asked the group as Sasuke shrugged.

'I have no idea just say you don't want to talk about it' Sasuke muttered as Sakura looked over at me from the kitchen.

'You could always just tell the truth' Sakura stated as I shook my head.

'No it would scare them if I told them the truth besides I still don't know all of the anxieties I have from that… experience' I said as everyone seemed on edge again. There was a whistle from the kettle as I jumped and looked as Sakura gave me an apologetic look.

'Wow you need to calm down a bit Onee-chan how about Sakura take you to the hot springs?' Sasuke suggested as Sakura gave him a brilliant smile.

'I haven't been to the hot springs in a while. I think we should make an evening of it. I'll call the girls.' Sakura said as she tossed the tea pot to Naruto who juggled it for a minute before Sasuke caught it deftly without looking and poured four cups of tea.

'Hey I totally had that!' Naruto whined as Sasuke didn't say anything and thrust the tea cup into his hand. I took the cup from Sasuke and sipped at it before finishing my glass of water. I heard Sakura nattering away on the phone and laughing as Sasuke raised an eyebrow but said nothing as Naruto flopped down onto the floor and turned on the TV. He turned it to the crime scene show as I jumped off of the couch and shuffled myself into the kitchen leaning heavily on the flimsy wooden walls.

'Hey where are you going?' Naruto called as I accidentally punched a hold through one of the shoji screens. Nori allowed me to lean on her as I made it to the kitchen and flopped onto the futon cushion that they had instead of chairs at the kitchen table. This was going to be painful getting up and down from this table.

'Okay, 7 at Romeo's for Italian. Perfect. I'll tell Ino-chan and Hinata-chan. Thanks Temari-chan.' Sakura hung up and quickly put in a combination of numbers. Talking to both Ino and Hinata at the same time giving over the info Temari had just arranged.

'You shouldn't push yourself so hard' Nori said curling around me so I could lean on her. I sighed and stared at the ceiling wondering where Kakashi was and why he was avoiding me.

'I know Nori, but I didn't want another panic attack.' I whispered as she purred and wrapped her tail over my hips. 'besides do you know what Kakashi-kun is up to?' I sighed as Nori gave a cat growl of a sigh and looked at me.

'Last I saw he was heading south from the village. Tsunade said he was heading to the ocean for awhile' Nori said as I sighed and counted the panels on the shoji door.

'Ironic, I get home. Tell him I love him and he disappears.' I gave a humourless laugh that sounded more like a sob as Sakura looked at me. Nori gave a sad rumble of a meow as I looked at the light filtering through the high window above the kitchen sink. 'Why does nothing work out for me Nori?' I muttered as Nori licked my face.

'Things will get better you'll see. Kakashi just needs time to understand his feelings and get over being so afraid of them.' She said as I lay my head back over her and started counting the few cracks in the ceiling that had crept up from the past 500 years the house had been standing.

'Hey Nee-chan? We're going to go meet the girls at the hot spring are you coming?' Sakura asked as I looked at her curiously.

'When did you start calling me Nee-chan?' I asked as Sakura blushed.

'We'll I never had a sister and we pretty much live together so I thought plus I'm dating Sasuke-kun so… I'm sorry if you don't want me to call you that Yuki-chan!' she insisted as I laughed and smiled at her.

'Don't worry Nee-chan is alright but Naruto had to call me Onee-chan!' I called as I heard a whoop! From the other room. These guys were alright. They weren't a insane as the Akatsuki that was until I saw Sasuke with the strawberry pocky stick hanging out of his mouth. Sakura gave him a funny look as he stared back.

'I thought you didn't like sweets' Sakura mentioned as Sasuke shrugged and handed me a stick. In that instant I heard feet on the hall floor as I involuntarily tensed as Naruto rounded the corner and tackled Sasuke.

'POCKY!!!!' He yelled with glee as Sakura rolled her eyes and helped me off of the floor. I laughed as the two teens rolled around wrestling for the pock of Pocky which Sasuke kept firmly out of Naruto's reach as the blonde desperately tried to retrieved the treat.

'Let's go before they break your arm or leg' Sakura laughed as I giggled and jumped on Nori. She didn't mind my riding her as I couldn't really move much from my however long of physical abuse but at least the short bursts of walking were helping with my energy and strength. Sakura ran upstairs to grab a purse and tossed me my little green leather wallet with bunnies on it before we left the house.

'Ino-chan called the hot springs and they were having a slow day because its Monday so they privately booked the female side for us. We have power as kunoichi protecting the village. People are willing to give us special treatment.' Sakura winked as I smiled. I guess here there were perks to being a warrior. Nori gave a growl of approval as we headed west to the far side of town.

'Where will we be meeting the girls?' I asked as Sakura smiled.

'We have an entire evening planned. Hot springs, dinner and maybe a movie at Kurenai's house if you're up to it.' Sakura smiled as I nodded. It did sound like fun. Hanging out with the other girls. Something I have never done before. For that matter I had never had any female friends before, this was entirely new for me. I noticed Sakura had avoided my question as I raised an eyebrow at her. 'We're meeting at the hot springs sorry.' She finished as I shook my head. Silly Sakura planning so much at once just over me. Then a thought came to me, they were keeping me busy so I wouldn't be depressed about Kakashi's disappearance.

I sighed, it was good in theory but I was still thinking about it as I felt another panic attack rising. I took one of the little blue tablets as suddenly I felt rather stoned and giggly. Well that's always good my medication makes me stoned to calm me down. Good choice Tsunade.

'So…what are you going to do until you're back to going on missions?' Sakura asked as I looked at her. She looked tired and stressed and years older than she should. I guessed being a kunoichi always aged people faster than normal people dealing with constant threats upon your life.

'I talked with the Hokage and I'm going to work at the academy as Iruka-kun's teacher aid and if all goes well I'll probably get my own class or become the weapons teacher. Who knows but I know I'm off missions for at the very least a year unless Konoha is attacked then I have to be returned to service.' I said as Sakura looked at me with a grin.

'You'd be a really good teacher. Plus Iruka-sensei is so kind and I know he thinks highly of you since you saved Kakashi-sensei and me that one time.' Sakura laughed as I smiled.

'I think I'd like being a teacher. Even if its mini shinobi I'll be teaching and their parents but oh well it'll be fun.' I smiled thinking over not having to run around after villains or go risking my neck after documents. All I would have to do was paperwork and manage to command a class.

'Hey Sakura-chan, Yuki-san!' Ino called waving at us as we waved back. Hinata landed beside her as did TenTen and Anko.

'Hey it's our snow ghost!' Anko called as I gave her the finger. She burst out laughing as the others exchanged looks. Anko was more of a crude woman and found violence and obscene things hilarious. We came to stand with them as I noticed we were outside of the hot springs.

'Who are we still waiting for?' TenTen asked as Ino looked around.

'Well were waiting for Kurenai-sensei, Hannah-senpai, and Temari-chan. Is Tsume-san coming or is she out on a mission currently?' Ino asked as Temari landed by our little group.

'Tsume-san is out with Gai-sensei looking for Kakashi-sensei…' she trailed off noticing I was sitting on Nori as the big cat gave a warning growl. Surprisingly since I had taken the tablet everything was hunkydori and I felt unusually calm. I smiled and started humming American idiot to myself. I loved that song. Everyone shared a look as Sakura shrugged.

'Anxiety medication' she explained as everyone nodded and seemed to relax.

'Why are we all standing around outside?' Kurenai's melodic voice giggled as a girl who looked a striking amount like Kiba stood beside the heavily pregnant woman.

'We're waiting for you plus Yuki-chan has never met Hannah-senpai.' Sakura explained as Hinata came to stand beside me.

'Oh hello Yuki-senpai, I'm Hannah Inuzuka. I'm one of the city veterinarians It's nice to meet you and your snow leopard. May I ask your name?' She was very polite as Nori turned her eyes to her.

'I am Nori. It's a pleasure to meet you Hannah.' She purred as Hannah gave a slight bow. Nori did the same nearly knocking me off as Hinata caught me.

'Thanks Sis' I muttered as Hinata righted me on the large cat. Hannah seemed surprised that I had called Hinata sister as Temari explained it to her.

'Well now that were all here lets go!' Ino stated as Hinata and Sakura helped me to the ground. My legs wobbled but were getting better as I could stand slightly on my own. Nori promised she would be around and popped into her small size and jumped into a tree and disappeared.

Hinata and Sakura allowed me to lean on them as we went into the little lobby.

'Welcome! You all must all be the kunoichi that rented the spring for the afternoon. Come in. Come in!' the elderly lady waved us in as she caught sight of me and bowed deeply.

'Oh Ice kunoichi I did not know you'd be joining them, please. Come this way!' she bustled away as I gave everyone a confused look. Why was everyone so thankful toward me what did I do? The little woman led us to the change rooms as we thanked her and stripped wrapping big fluffy towels around ourselves. I managed to make it out to the spring on my own, albeit leaning heavily on the wooden fence as I managed to sit on the edge of the spring putting my legs in. The water was heavenly warm as I sighed.

'Cannon ball!' Anko roared as a small tsunami of water splashed over my legs and soaked the hem of my towel.

'Anko-san!' I snapped as she surfaced grinning. She swam around as Hinata and Temari helped Kurenai out of the change rooms. She was wearing a thin yukata as she sat beside me. I had removed all of my clothing except for my old torn mask that only covered my neck and face. I hadn't really looked at my body but there were scars everywhere as I noticed just about everyone's body was scarred with layers and patterns of scars.

I smiled and whipped off my towel and slid into the water. It was amazingly warm as my muscles rejoiced at the warmth as I stretched them a little. The weightlessness of the water helped so much as I swam around a bit.

'This water is amazing, we should've done this ages ago!' Sakura sighed as Ino agreed and TenTen splashed Hinata soaking her hair. Anko and Kurenai were talking against one of the walls as Kurenai looked at me.

'Butterfly?' she asked as I ducked lower in the cloudy water. Sakura made a point of excusing herself to go the bathroom as the other women looked at me. No one expects the Spanish inquisition do they?

'I think we all know how she managed to get that Kurenai-sensei. I'm more interested in why she wears that mask like Kakashi-kun so much' Anko raised an eyebrow as I rolled my eyes. Anko really was too brash and nosey for her own good.

'I have my reasons' I said swimming to the other side of the spring. Anko snorted.

'That's exactly the reaction I got from Kakashi-kun. What is it with you two?' she pressed as I leant against the rock wall and glared at her.

'Can we stop talking about Kakashi?' I asked icily as Anko pressed ahead. Everyone else was watching the two of us. They knew to keep well enough out of it as Kurenai also voted to go to the bathroom as Hinata and Ino voted to take her rather quickly as Temari, Hannah and TenTen shared scared and concerned looks.

'Why would I? I mean you are sleeping with him aren't you?' Anko asked as I glared at her.

'No I'm not sleeping with Kakashi. Now drop the topic.' I hissed as Anko leant back against the wall giving me a smug look.

'So if you're not sleeping with him then why would he be so attracted to someone like you? I mean you disappeared and nearly killed him I would feel terrible if I did something like that' Anko muttered as I pushed my anger down. Anko was pushing my buttons because she had a thing for Kakashi and he had chosen me over her. The younger girls were getting nervous as they shot glances between the two of us. I guessed two could play this game.

'You're right I was really upset that Kakashi felt the need to come after me but Anko-san there's no need to attack me if Kakashi won't notice you. Have you slept with him at all?' I asked as Anko's eyes narrowed. I had caught her at her own game as a sly grin crossed her face.

'Actually I have. I must admit he does this amazing trick where he puts your one leg on his shoulder and the other on his hip and twists his hips to the right. It's amazing.' Anko had a wicked grin as I blinked then laughed.

'I'll have to remember to ask him about that' I said as TenTen fainted. I didn't think it was that graphic as Temari burst out laughing and held onto TenTen. Anko grinned and swam over to me.

'Anyway why do you always wear that mask? What are you afraid of showing? I mean if anything you're stunning from the outline what's so wrong?' Anko asked as I shook my head.

'I'm not taking it off and I have my reasons. None of which I am going to explain.' I said and tried to swim around Anko. She caught me and tried to grab my mask as I blocked and twisted her arm. My arms burned from the muscle use as Anko laughed and kicked my shin. I grunted as pain shot up my leg and Anko grabbed for my mask. I swung backward as Anko's fingers just brushed my cheek before I went underwater.

I heard yelling as I swam around Anko's legs and across the spring. I surfaced and took in a gulp of air as Sakura was screaming at Anko about picking fights with people who were still recovering from nearly dying. I spouted water as Anko got out and walked stark naked into the change room. Well now I knew why Kakashi would sleep with her. She was stunning even with all of silver scars that riddled her body.

I sighed as Hinata and Sakura jumped into the warm water.

'Why does Anko-senpai always have to start a fight?' Ino sighed as Sakura shook her head and swam around.

'It's her nature I think' Kurenai said as the whole spring seemed to lighten its mood. I sighed and relaxed once again in the hot water.

'We're sorry that all we seem to talk about is Kakashi-sensei around you Onee-san' Hinata muttered as I shrugged.

'You are just curious because the circumstances between us are weird and you're concerned about both of us. Unlike Anko-san you don't ask inappropriate questions even though I know some of you are thinking them.' I said as I noticed Temari, Ino, Sakura, and Hinata blush. Kurenai just gave me a smug look and Hannah just looked innocent as she pushed herself off from the wall.

I felt Nori's chakra flare become larger as I looked to my right to see the little cat balanced on a pine limb that stretched out over the spring. She was rather calm but looked rather annoyed as I heard incessant barking from the base of the tree behind the stone wall of the springs.

'The mutts want to speak with you this evening Yuki. Supposedly there is some information that you must be informed about informally otherwise the next little while could be tricky.' She said as there was a low growl and a bark. Nori's tail twitched as she growled and gave a series of yowls back. I floated on my back and looked up at her as the others continued separate conversations. I knew they were listening in but Nori always was one to be a shit disturber and cause a little bit of chatter amongst the ranks. 'Correction, they just want you to come over and feed them. Lazy mutts. Cant even get their own food.' Nori ranted a little more as I ignored them and paddled over to where Sakura and the others had started a splash fight. I joined in getting Hinata in the face with a large wave and nearly swamping the twiggy TenTen before Ino screeched about her hair being ruined and Sakura dumped a bucket of water over her head just for spite.

Kurenai laughed as Hannah shoved Temari into the water making the sand kunoichi's hair go nearly straight from the water as Hannah had two buckets of water thrown at her by an irritated Ino and giggling Sakura.

The spring was amazing and we stayed there well into the evening when we were all wrinkled and exhausted from playing and the heat of the spring itself. I wrapped myself in a fluffy towel and managed to walk back into the change room before I flopped down on the wooden bench. I sighed and gave a bit of a stretch. The soreness was nearly gone from my muscles but I was still incredibly weak and without much energy to keep going.

'So what now?' I asked as Ino grinned and clapped her hands.

'Italian food!' she yelled as I covered my ears and pulled on my clothing.

'Alright we'll go eat then' I laughed as my stomach rumbled in agreement. Kurenai laughed and winced as Hinata hauled her to her feet.

'I feel like a whale. I can't even see my feet!' she moaned as Hinata gave her shoulder a squeeze.

'But think of who and what happened to get you this way' Ino winked as I burst out laughing as Kurenai had the grace to blush.

'Quiet you!' Kurenai snapped as Ino ducked the towel that was flung at her. We headed out to a cute little Italian eatery. I had never had Italian as I soon found out it was one of the most amazing if not fattening foods in the world. We talked about silly things really, whether black, grey, or green was the best for missions. I voted dark purple. We also discussed whether it was better to have long or short hair on missions which ended up in a tie because most of the girls tied their hair up on missions. Kurenai was on maternity leave so she told us about what hidden weapons were in the best accessories. Ino discussed that since Christmas was over that valentines was on its way and the flower shop had been going crazy with orders of flowers, perfume, and new shipments of exotic flowers coming in.

'We have these new flowers that came in and they're from the Ice village. They're really expensive we have a bunch. Crown flowers, we also managed to get a bunch of shaving brush trees, Giant apostle's iris, father found some Jade vines north of town, and we just received a shipment or cacti flowers from Suna. They're really pretty Temari-chan' Ino giggled as Temari rolled her eyes.

'Shikamaru wouldn't know what to get me if it bit him in his lazy ass.' Temari muttered as we all laughed. It was true Shikamaru seemed to think everything was too much trouble but who knows maybe he would actually pull his own weight for Temari.

'So are we going to go for a movie?' Kurenai asked as I declined remembering that the mutts wanted me to go feed them.

'I have to go look after Kakashi-kun's mutts' I stated as they all grumbled and pleaded with me to come but I refused. If Pakkun and the others were desperate enough to find Nori and actually talk to her then they wanted to talk about something serious.

'Well I guess we'll just have to bring you another time Yuki-chan' Ino sighed dramatically as Kurenai swatted the girl.

'Let's go. Besides, my feet are tired and I want to watch Finding Nemo again!' Kurenai laughed as the girls started quoting random parts of the movie. I laughed and managed to walk our of the restaurant as I noticed Nori waiting calmly on a low brick wall. I laughed and tossed her a piece of the chicken parmesan I had as she snatched it happily and ate it in one mouthful.

'I never did like tomatoes.' Nori stated licking her lips as she jumped down and transformed so I could hop on. 'Running or walking?' she asked as I sighed.

'I cant take any more running at the moment Nori. Even with the hot springs making me feel that much better I'm still really sore.' I said as the big cat gave a growl of acknowledgment before she started padding along the streets. A few people stared but most were used to seeing the Inuzuka clan riding their massive dogs around so seeing me wasn't so obvious.

'So have you been keeping tabs on me all day?' I asked as Nori laughed.

'I'm not letting you out of my sight ever again after disappearing on me like that. Besides, you're weaker than a cub right now anyone could attack you so I'm your first line of defense.' Nori said as I gave her fur ruff a scratch. She purred as I smiled.

'So what do the mutts really want?' I asked as Nori chuckled at the name.

'I'm not sure but it seemed important. Pakkun is out tracking Kakashi right now so they sent Inu to find me. Yasu and Chairo were sent as backup. Lazy dogs. But they looked really concerned about the information they had gained.' Nori said as I sighed and looked at the sky. The sun was setting as Nori padded silently through the streets.

'Your birthday was two weeks ago. You arrived in the hospital on your birthday. Valentines day is next week.' Nori said as I blinked, wow I had been gone for that long? I had been missing for nearly three months. Including my time with the Akatsuki and with psycho.

'I always hated valentines day and I think this year will be the same sadly.' I sighed as Nori gave me an annoyed look.

'You really are depressing.' She stated as a loud bark made me look to the left. I saw Tsume, Gai and Iruka talking by the flower shop. I wanted to stop and ask Tsume how the hunt for Kakashi went as Iruka looked up and saw me. I smiled and waved as Iruka waved back and the others caught on. They all waved at me before going back to their discussion as I felt rather snubbed before Nori turned a corner.

'Where are we going?' I asked as Nori gave a sigh.

'Hatake residence.' She said as she jumped the low wall surrounding the compound. I held on as she padded over to where the main house was. Yasu greeted us with a low woof as the others soon ran out and greeted us.

'Yukiko-san welcome' Pakkun gave a little doggy bow as I tried not to laugh at the little pug. 'Please come in' he asked as I stepped off of Nori but used her as a leaning post to make it up the stairs and into the house. The dogs followed and sat around me in the kitchen as I picked up Inu and let him sleep in my lap as I rubbed his tummy before sitting at the all too familiar kitchen table.

'So what first, do you want food or talking?' I asked as Pakkun and the others looked at their dishes. They were too polite to say anything as I got up and looked around the kitchen leaning on the counters for support.

'Third cupboard from the left, second shelf up.' Chairo barked as I found the massive bag of food amongst the various other treats and toys. I gave each of them their required amount depending on their size. It really was tiring as I had to stop and lean against the wall to recover a few times.

I sighed flopping into the kitchen chair as Nori leant her head in my lap and gave a low purr that seemed to vibrate up my legs and into my chest. It was rather nice and warming as I scratched her ears. The dogs chomped away on their food as I looked around the little kitchen. There were dogs paw prints and drool all over the place. I would've cleaned it but I could barely carry enough food to feed the dogs let alone clean and entire kitchen. Being this weak sucked majorly.

'So we have some things to discuss.' Pakkun startled me as he jumped onto the table looking me in the eye. 'Are you alright here or shall we go to the couch?' he asked as I voted couch and we all piled into the living room that was amazingly clean minus the toys and shoes lying in various places.

'You better clean up before Kakashi-kun returns' I said as Pakkun agreed as I sunk into the fluffy and well worn couch. Nori sat on the floor beside me as Pakkun took up his post on the arm rest.

'Now other than feeding us, we have come across some interesting information about our master. You are well aware he disappeared for the previous week but the truth behind that was that he never really left Konoha. Yes he had left the village for a few days originally with the Hokage-sama's permission to head south to visit some…people lets say. But, he has returned.' I was surprised by this news and immediately checked for any signs of chakra other than mine, Nori and the dogs. There was none so I assumed we weren't being eavesdropped upon.

'I see. Well Pakkun I'm not going to demand to know where he is and what is going on. I think I can understand why he needs time to think to himself. I'm just going to let him be until he comes to me with whatever decision he has made.' I said as Pakkun looked surprised.

'This was not the meeting I was prepared for. I thought you would demand to know where he was and if he was alright. I can assure you he is fine. But another concern is how you are fairing. The anxiety problems have they become worse?' he asked as I shook my head. When did this turn into something about me?

'Pakkun, I want to ask you a few questions about a few of Kakashi's memories that I seem to keep replaying in my dreams.' I said as Pakkun nodded. Obviously Kakashi and Pakkun were very close so they knew just about everything about the other.

'Who was Obito?' I asked as Pakkun stiffened and looked at the other dogs. They seemed to know they were treading on thin ice as I waited.

'Obito was originally on Kakashi's team when he first became jounin. They hated each other because they were both from talented shinobi families. But it was Obito who made Kakashi overcome his shame for his father and grow as a person. Sadly Obito died on that mission and Kakashi never forgave himself for losing someone who had pushed him to grow and to forgive not only himself but Konoha for what they did.' Pakkun said as everything including my dream now made perfect sense. So that was who Kakashi was always lamenting over and talking to when things became difficult or he didn't want to deal with life anymore. I knew suddenly where Kakashi had been these past few days. The memorial and as for his trip south he had probably gone to visit Cho. I put a hand on my back and winced. That would be a painful reminder to Kakashi every time he saw my back if he had to see Chou written there.

'Okay that clears up more than you think. What about Cho? How did she die?' I asked as Pakkun gave me a very sad look. Obviously this was not going to be pretty.

'I don't think you should tell her Pakkun' Chairo whimpered as Yasu gave the brown eared mutt as silencing look.

'She deserves to know. Cho-san was the only other female master ever took seriously as a potential life mate. I still don't see why humans do that' Kiiro grumbled as her rolled around on the ground scratching his back on the tatami mats. I rolled my eyes at the arrogant dog they would never get it based on their species. Maybe Pakkun would because he was smarter and more in tune with humans than the rest were.

'Are you going to talk because I'm getting bored and I think I just got fleas on me' Nori growled as I gave her head another scratch as she quieted down.

'Anyway, Pakkun about Cho?' I asked as the little pug sighed and wiggled out of his little coat with the crazy symbol face on the back.

'Cho-san was…interesting. She was about the polar opposite of you. Tall, thin, over dramatic, irritating really, she was from a rich family in Suna and was here as a guard for the Suna ambassador for the chounin exams when Master met her.' Pakkun said.

'I never liked her. She always seemed like she was hiding something and she had a jealousy streak a mile wide. Not to mention that she hated us but she was an extremely good actor when it came to master. She was kind, considerate, caring, she understood how difficult being a shinobi and I think that's mostly what Master was looking for was companionship other than that idiot Gai' Inu muttered rolling over and yawning. I blinked. That was not what I had expected at all.

'Master was incredibly lonely and she fit perfectly in master's life. She was a constant fixture for about 8 months. Then she was recalled to Suna.' Pakkun explained as I nodded. 'You could imagine how upset master was. He made every excuse to try to go to Suna to see her and it worked for awhile. They even had plans to get married until the Akatsuki struck her down on a mission.' Pakkun said sadly. I nodded. It was quite sad that this woman that Kakashi had been in love with, no matter the fact that what the dogs said might've been true about her personality. She was there for Kakashi though and that's what made all of the difference.

'So who in the Akatsuki struck her down?' I asked as Pakkun looked very tired suddenly.

'Your brother and his partner the shark man. She was on a mission in wave to kill them. Sadly she was the one on the receiving end of death. No one at the time knew much about the Akatsuki other than they were dangerous criminals. No one knew just how dangerous they were until after that engagement where those two wiped out four teams of jounin. Needless to say master was devastated when the news reached Konoha. He was even more distraught than when Obito died. I think he never fully forgave himself for letting her go on that mission to Wave country.' Pakkun said as I nodded. It made sense after Obito's death and having Cho die so suddenly why Kakashi had reacted the way he had when I had said I had loved him. Plus the fact that I nearly died when I told him I loved him probably didn't help matters any great amount.

'Thanks Pakkun' I said giving the little pug a scratch behind his ears. Various memories, recollections, and concepts of what was going on in Kakashi's mind whipped around inside of mine as I sighed and curled up on the couch resting my head against the well worn arm.

'Are you alright?' Nori asked as I nodded and yawned. I really wanted to sleep but my head was so full of images and memories of mine and Kakashi's it was making it difficult to concentrate on sleeping. The dogs and Nori left me alone as I lay on the couch watching the streetlights outside filter through the old shoji screens giving the entire room an eerie orange glow.

I lay there and lowered my chakra to a sleeping level and smoothed out my breathing in an attempt to trick my body into letting me sleep. It didn't work but most of my aches and soreness lessen as I lay there. I closed my eyes and listened to the noises of the house. There were the growls, yaps, woofs, and hisses of Nori and the dogs in the kitchen as I heard crickets chirping and the soft scraping of an owl outside of the house or on the roof.

I must've dozed off listening to the animals as the soft scruff of a shoji screen opening caused me to become more aware of my surroundings. I kept pretending to be asleep as I heard soft footsteps cross the room.

'You know you have her worried sick' Nori's soft voice said through the darkness as the footsteps froze.

'Nori' Kakashi's voice was low trying to keep me from waking up as I sighed in my pretend sleep. Both of them froze as I shifted and settled again on the couch. I felt someone drape something heavy and soft over me. I was touched at the fact that Kakashi had showed up to put a blanket on me to make sure I didn't get sick.

'Why are you doing this Kakashi? You know how she feels and she's willing to wait for you. What are you waiting for?' Nori hissed softly as I heard a painful sigh from Kakashi.

'I have some skeletons I need to sort out and honestly I'm not going to make her wait much longer. I have a few people I need to talk to before I talk with her again.' Kakashi's voice sounded incredibly tired and almost anguished as Nori gave an irritated growl.

'If you hurt her I swear you will never forget it and you're on thin ice as it is scarecrow. Maybe that's why you wont do anything because you're too scared to act selfishly and just take what she's offering you. You have to analyze everything so that you wont get hurt again.' Nori hissed. 'Honestly Kakashi take the jump. I know as well as you do how much you do love her. Stop making her suffer and have to go asking other people as to why you would leave her and allow them to put doubts in her mind as to if you love her. Anko already told Yuki you slept with her. Is that what you want getting around?' Nori was beyond angry at him I could tell as I felt Kakashi's chakra shift into a more agitated flow.

'Anko said what? I was completely plastered when that happened and she jumped me. What else has she been told?' Kakashi's voice was now angry as I continued to fake sleeping.

'She asked Pakkun about Cho and Obito, she's tried to keep all of her emotions hidden from the others but I know she's suffering in more than just physical. Since you left she has to take anxiety medications because being away from you causes her that much anguish.' Nori said as Kakashi gave a tired sigh.

'Nori, give me a week. I have to do a few things, just keep her safe until valentines day.' He whispered as I gave a sigh and rolled to face the front of the couch. The duo froze as I grabbed the blanket and sighed again.

'Kashi-kun' I muttered lazily. I knew I was being an ass but at the moment he deserved it as I heard three steps in my direction before Kakashi kissed my forehead. I gave a sigh as I suddenly felt more at ease and relaxed that I had in ages. All I could smell was his sharp clean scent and something that resembled pine trees and dirt as I felt him brush the hair back from my face.

'Make sure she's alright Nori.' Kakashi said as he stepped away from me. I heard the shoji screen close and his footsteps face as the familiar panic welled up in my chest. I tried to fight it as I sat bolt upright trying to gasp in air. My pulse was racing as I tried desperately to get any oxygen.

'Yuki!' I heard Nori call as the dogs ran in. I heard footsteps on the stairs freeze as I gasped for air. I heard someone run into the house as I saw Sakura run into the house.

'Yuki-chan!' She called as I felt like I was going to pass out. Spots were forming in front of my vision as I felt something poke my arm. It took a few minutes for the drugs to work as Sakura encouraged me to take deep calming breaths. I felt the drugs starting to work as I collapsed back onto the couch. Sakura caught me from whacking my head off of the arm of the couch as she let my lay back. I was utterly exhausted as I lay there still panting slightly.

'Nightmare?' Sakura asked as I sighed.

'It started as a nice dream, but then…' I trailed off. I knew what had triggered the attack. Kakashi leaving. It terrified me as Sakura pushed my damp hair back.

'What happened, mum used to always talk with me about nightmares. It made them seem less… frightening.' She soothed as I sighed and stared at the ceiling. I was going to have think and fast to come up with a terrifying dream that could lead to a panic attack as a thought came to me.

'I was back in that dungeon and Maro was coming. It was terrifying then… I saw Kakashi-kun and he managed to kill Maro but after he looked at me and said sorry and walked away.' I nearly sobbed as Sakura gave me a bear hug and whispered that everything was alright. Nori looked incredibly upset as did Pakkun as the two animals left the room quietly and headed upstairs. I heard light footsteps upstairs that weren't animal footsteps before there was hissing, growling and barking from upstairs. Sakura and I both looked at the ceiling but ignored it. I was in for a long week at this rate as Sakura told me everything would be alright. I wanted to believe her but in that dark little room it seemed like hope had evaded me again.

Merry Christmas! I will keep updating but its going to take awhile because I'm doing a great deal of artwork over the break. (some is on deviantart check my profile) anyway R&R!!!


	21. The Academy and a new face

I was out of Kakashi's house as soon as I woke up not wanting to stay there a moment longer. I made it back to the Uchiha compound, showered, got dressed and sat up in my room on my bed. My room looked exactly the same as it had in the old house but with tatami mats instead of hardwood and Shoji screen along one wall. I didn't know where Nori was but after the hot springs I could walk on my own without a great deal of support.

I was lying spread eagle on my bed staring at the lighting fixture that reminded me of some weird robotic arms as I heard the doorbell ring. Who rang the doorbell at our house? Everyone just waltzed in. I heard Iruka's voice as he and Naruto talked downstairs before Sakura's higher almost fluty sounding voice carried up to where I was lying. Of course Iruka was too polite to just walk into someone's house unannounced.

Someone knocked on my door. I assumed it was Sasuke as the others were downstairs.

'Yea' I said as Sasuke strode into the room and tossed a package of clothing at me. I gave him a questioning look as he raised an eyebrow.

'You're going to be late for work. Iruka-sensei is here to pick you up.' Sasuke said as left. I stared at the back of my now closed shoji screen door. I sat up and looked at the package in my lap. It was a standard jounin uniform as I sighed and pulled it on. It was a little bit big and the vest was rather tight hugging my curves a little awkwardly. I sighed and tied my hair back wrapping the ribbon around about six inches long down the ponytail. I put my forehead protector on as a headband and looked at myself in my mirror. I looked tired and like I was recovering after being very ill as I smiled. I still looked tired but at least I was friendly. Kakashi was planning something for valentines. I wasn't supposed to know this but the little tidbit was something for me to hold onto.

'YUKI-CHAN YOU'RE GOING TO BE LATE!!!' Sakura screamed as I jumped and walked as quickly as I could downstairs. Iruka and the trio were waiting for me by the door as I apologized for taking so long.

'It's alright. I wouldn't mind being late teaching those terrors.' Iruka laughed as the trio blushed. I guess they had also given their old teacher a hard time in the academy. What had I signed myself up for?

'Ready?' Iruka asked as I laughed and nodded following him out the door. We walked in silence as I noticed how early it was. I knew I got up in the dark and left Kakashi's house at a ridiculously early hour but I hadn't known how early as I just noticed people heading for work or opening stores.

'The uniform looks like it fits.' Iruka commented as I looked at myself. I thought I looked ridiculously huge wearing this uniform. It was not very flattering for females.

'Yea, not what I'm used to though. Especially this vest what are these silly little neck things for?' I asked as I rested my head against them. They seemed more of a hindrance than a help.

'They block wire from sinking into your neck and help block attacks to your neck. I know they look silly but they're actually quite a help' Iruka laughed as I smiled. I highly doubted these little puffs could save my neck from anything as I heard children laughing and screaming as the academy came into view. Mini ninjas were running around in the yard as normal school children stared on their way to learn math and science whereas these children were learning to be skilled assassins.

I thought about it. It was sickening in a way, we were taking young children and teaching them to kill and steal for the benefit of their country. Making them grow up before they were ready to. Iruka saw the look on my face and put a hand on my shoulder.

'It's alright to be nervous on your first day Yuki-san' Iruka said calmly as I nodded. I wasn't really nervous about the kids. I was more so worried about the sanity of the politics behind this. But then again I had turned out alright… sort of. We walked past the school yard to resounding Iruka-sensei's! and good mornings as Iruka smiled and waved. They definitely were a fan of him even if they were terrors as we went inside the main building.

The school was shockingly clean without even one mark of graffiti or dirt anywhere. Iruka led me down the hall as I saw a few other teachers in their rooms writing lessons for the day on the board or shuffling papers around.

'Morning Iruka-sensei' I saw Shikamaru wave as I looked over the chounin's shoulder at the young man. He seemed surprised as he gave me a lazy smile and a wave. 'You too Yuki-san, are you working here now?' he asked as I nodded.

'I'm Iruka-kun's teaching assistant until I get a hold of the ropes to have my own class.' I said as Shikamaru laughed.

'Good luck these kids are little terrors. Never turn your back and watch out for Nobu and Kagome.' He warned as I nodded. Iruka blushed a little as he showed me the teachers lounge. It was a rather large room with couches and a few tables that had stacks of papers and some teachers and their aides already working away.

'I'm sorry I don't have the time to give you a bio about every single one of the kids but I'll show you which ones to watch out for.' Iruka said as I felt three chakra flares from inside of the classroom we were about to enter. I saw the chalk brush wedged in the door as I snagged it as Iruka opened the door.

There was loud giggling from behind one of the desks as Iruka looked at me. I tossed the brush in my hand. It was an old trick putting a chalk brush in a door frame.

'Nice try' Iruka said as there was a groan and three kids looked over one of the banks of desks. There was a raven haired girl who reminded me of a panda from her chubby shape a reedy red haired boy with flinty grey eyes that seemed totally unimpressed with the world and a mousy brown haired boy whose hair didn't look like it could be tamed from its wild cowlick that made him resemble a lion. He looked at me with excitement in his almost topaz eyes as he bounced in his seat.

'Iruka-sensei who's the pretty girl?' he asked as the panda girl smacked him.

'Don't be such a loud mouth Nobu!' she snapped as the red head looked at me with something akin to amusement. I shook my head and went to place the chalk brush on the blackboard as I heard something whizzing toward the back of my head. I reached back and snatched the object out of the air from behind me. Turned out that it was an eraser as I analyzed the trajectory it had come from. Turned out the redhead had thrown it as I turned around and bounced the little pink object in my hand.

'I think you lost this' I said handing the eraser back to the now stunned boy.

'how-how-' he stuttered as I smiled. Iruka laughed and clapped me on the shoulder.

'This is going to be a fun class Yuki-sensei' Iruka laughed as the bell went and children filed into the room. Each one had a gawk at me as they took their seats. The classroom was amazingly loud as each kid talked over one another to be heard.

'Class.' Iruka said as no one took notice. I raised an eyebrow as he waited tapping his foot. 'Class.' He said as again a few of the smarter ones caught on and stopped talking as a few continued to talk.

'Oi SHUT UP!' I snapped as everyone looked to the front of the room. Iruka looked a little startled as I smiled. All eyes were on me and Iruka as Iruka clapped his hands.

'Alright so we have a new teacher at the academy. She's going to be working in our class for the rest of the semester. So yuki-sensei I'll let you say a bit about yourself.' Iruka turned the spotlight on me as I smiled.

'Hello everyone my name is Yukiko Uchiha. You can call me Yuki. I'm not from Konoha I'm actually from Ice country which is west of Suna past the desert and plains into the mountains. Is there any questions?' I asked as almost every hand in the room shot into the air and a few even blurted out their questions. I blinked. 'Raise your hands' I stated as a few groaned and threw their hands up.

I looked around the room noticing a shy looking girl with peach coloured hair holding her hand up.

'You there with the peach coloured hair' I said as the girl blushed furiously.

'Is… your brother Sasuke-san?' she asked now almost as red as an apple. I smiled.

'Yes Sasuke-kun is my baby brother and Itachi-kun is also my younger brother and we have met.' I said as a few of the hands in the room fell. I noticed one boy was waving his hand erratically and nearly hit one of his neighboring class mates.

'Yes you with the brown hair and red glasses' I pointed to him as he grinned.

'Will you go out with me?' he demanded as the class burst into laughter. I giggled.

'No, I actually I'm seeing someone currently. Thanks for the thought though.' I said as the boy didn't seem put out in the least as he high fived a raven haired kid beside him. The room still had hands up as I looked and saw the flinty red head staring at me with a critical look. 'yes you with the red hair' I said as the entire class went silent. Obviously this kid was feared. Maybe he was a bully?

'What rank are you?' He asked as I smiled and looked at Iruka who covered his amusement with a cough. He waved at me to continue as I pulled my hair back behind my ears.

'Where I come from I am a Dragon level assassin. In terms for here I am on par with your Anbu team captains.' I said as chatter broke out amongst the children.

'So you're higher than a jounin?' Nobu gasped as I nodded. He seemed in awe of me as a kid who looked like a member of the Inuzuka clan piped up.

'If you're such an elite ninja why are you teaching us?' he piped up as I sighed. The class fell silent waiting for my answer.

'I was kidnapped from Konoha on a mission and tortured for information about Konoha that I did not know and have been assigned as your new student teacher until I recover' I said as the entire class was actually hanging off my every word.

'You're so much cooler than Iruka-sensei!' Nobu grinned as Iruka coughed. I rolled my eyes.

'Not really, Iruka-sensei has saved more than a few fellow ninja in his time. I just ravel around and help various villages' I stated as Iruka blushed slightly at the compliment.

'But you're an Uchiha!' someone shouted as I whipped around to look at the class.

'Yes so? I'm also half Hyuuga. Just because I have an interesting family lineage doesn't determine how proficient and skilled you are as a ninja. You have to want to be a ninja more than anything and take whatever training is thrown at you without complaint. So if I hear anyone whining about this being stupid or I've already done this at home. Do it anyway. Practice is everything. Practice today so you can survive tomorrow.' I smiled at them as Iruka clapped.

'Very good Yuki-sensei. You brought about our first lesson of today. Practice. Now did all of you have your parents sign your permission slips for the field trip to training ground two?' Iruka asked as there was a flurry of paper and short students streaming up to hand their teacher their permission slip.

'Who are we going to see fight today Iruka-sensei?' One girl with white hair in pigtails asked as Iruka looked at me with a bit of concern.

'Well first Kiko-chan its sparring and we were going to see Kakashi-senpai spar with Asuma-senpai.' Iruka said as I smiled and looked at Nobu who was desperately trying to get my attention. He gave me his permission slip and grinned like a mad fool as the panda girl gave me hers as did a few others. I gave them to Iruka as he gave me an apologetic look.

'Alright everyone let's go!' Iruka said as the group filed out. Iruka took the lead as I followed along behind. Nobu, the peach coloured haired girl who I learned was called Momo, Kiko, and a loud girl named Sara who seemed to want to compare every aspect about me to her.

'So do you curl your hair or let it dry naturally?' Sara asked as I looked at her.

'This is my natural hair I don't do anything to it' I said as Sara laughed.

'really? I straighten my hair every morning! Otherwise it gets a frizzy and I cant do anything with it.' She said as I looked at the girl she couldn't be more than 11 or 12. I noticed Momo hadn't said anything as I put my hand on her shoulder.

'Hey Momo-chan have you ever watched people spar? I asked as she shook her head.

'My mother doesn't think becoming a kunoichi is a fitting job for a lady.' She whispered as I gave her a reassuring pat on her shoulder.

'Maybe not but what do you believe? If you really think that being a kunoichi is the one thing you want most in the world then go for it.' I said as Momo looked at me with large sapphire eyes as she smiled.

'Thanks Yuki-sensei' she grinned as Sara looked put out.

'My family has been shinobi for generations.' Sara boasted as Nobu looked at her.

'Oh put a sock in it. Yuki-sensei is from two of the greatest shinobi houses in Konoha and she already said family lines mean nothing!' Nobu stated as Sara looked thoroughly put out as Kiko grabbed my hand and held on. We passed over a little bridge and found ourselves outside of training ground two. Iruka led the class in past the large chain link fences as he ordered them to wait by the large tree as we both secured the fence.

'I'm sorry about this Yuki-san I had no idea until this morning that Tsunade had ordered the two of them to spar for our class.' He apologized as I shrugged and went to stand by the tree. Just for extra support I took another one of my anxiety pills as Kiko gave me a strange look.

'pain medication' I explained as she nodded.

'I read that people usually suffer from anxiety after torture. Have you had any panic attacks or unusual pain?' Kiko asked looking at me with eerie dark eyes. I raised an eyebrow.

'Yes I do have anxiety problems currently which is one reason why I'm teaching not out on missions. Are you studying to be a medical ninja Kiko-chan?' I asked as the girl nodded.

'I want to be like Tsunade-sama or Sakura-san. They're the best medical shinobi in the world!' she exclaimed as I smiled and ruffled her hair.

'That's a great aspiration. Would you like to meet Sakura-chan some day?' I asked a Kiko's eyes went wide.

'you know her?' she asked as I nodded.

'I live with her I could ask her to come and talk with you if you want' I said as Kiko looked like she was going to explode with excitement.

'Yes please Yuki-sensei!' she exclaimed as Iruka walked over.

'What's this?' he asked a Kiko turned to her teacher.

'Yuki-sensei is going to let me meet Sakura-san!' she exclaimed as Iruka grinned and looked at me with a smile.

'That's awesome Kiko-chan but you sparring partners are here and the match is about to begin so you better hurry for a good seat.' Iruka said as Kiko hurried off to sit beside Momo. Iruka turned back to look at me with a sad look. 'You don't have to watch if you don't want to.' Iruka said as I sighed and nodded.

'I'll probably stay but I'm going to watch from the tree' I said as Iruka nodded. Plus watching from the trees gave me a better view of the kids to make sure they were paying attention. I jumped into the tree and found a wide enough branch that I could sit and watch not only the fight but the children as well as I had a great deal of chestnuts to hit the kids with if they misbehaved.

I looked into the clearing as Asuma stood watching Kakashi approach reading his infamous orange book. My heart nearly stopped as he looked up to see me. He seemed a little startled before walking over to where Asuma stood. Iruka introduced the two jounin as Kakashi set his book away and pulled up his forehead protector so that the sharingan fixed on Asuma.

The match began.

I never noticed how lithe Kakashi was. He was like water flowing effortlessly from attack to dodge like water over stones. Asuma was more brash using his brute strength to attack where as Kakashi used his long athletic frame to move faster than Asuma. Kakashi managed to strike Asuma with a lightning fast strike to the chest.

I had to turn on my own sharingan to keep up with Kakashi as he moved faster and faster in an attempt to confuse Asuma. I was amazed at Kakashi's grace. For such a tall man I knew he was fast on his feet but I never noticed how he could twist, bend and fold his body with such lightning fast moves but at the same time be in complete control. It was amazing to watch as I hit Nobu with a chestnut to keep him focused and not pestering the panda girl.

Kakashi at one point kicked Asuma in the hip as the other jounin blocked. Sharingan locked with sharingan as a wave of extreme confusion, longing, love, and exhaustion hit me. I gasped as Kakashi's gaze broke with mine and he brought his other foot around to connect with Asuma's hand knocking his special blades from his hands and ending the match.

My anxiety pill kept me from having an attack right then and there as the entire class erupted into cheers. Kakashi took out his book and walked away, jumping over the fence and kept walking as Asuma got off of the ground and went over to answer any questions.

'Yuki-sensei!' Asuma waved as I smiled and jumped down landing amongst the students. A few of them jumped as I told them to stand and ask questions about what they saw.

Asuma seemed to like answering the kids questions. It was nice seeing him so comfortable with kids especially when he was about to have his own running around silly little ankle biters. I listened and waited as Iruka and the students asked Asuma about his blades, Kakashi's eye, and the different weapons that they had used such as Kunai, explosive tags, and shuriken.

Iruka thanked Asuma and asked him to pass it on to Kakashi as Asuma agreed and Iruka collected up his students. Asuma came over to talk with me as he leant against the tree lighting a cigarette.

'How are you holding up?' he asked as I shrugged fighting back the reaction to cough at the smoke blowing into my face.

'Better than I was two days ago. At least I can walk now. But Kakashi-kun's avoidance is making me a little on edge. So far I like teaching I haven't really done anything other than talk about myself though' I laughed as Asuma nodded taking a draw on his smoke.

'Well that's good. You were pretty messed up when you came back we weren't sure if you were going to live or even come out of the coma you were in. But, I know for a fact that Valentine's day is going to be a special day for you.' Asuma winked as I raised my eyebrow. I knew Kakashi was planning something but who had he told?

'how's Kurenai-chan?' I asked as Asuma laughed and showed me the rather large bruise on his forearm.

'Volatile, the baby is due in about a month and her hormones are off the rocker. I hope Ino-chan and Sakura-chan are having fun looking after her. I gave up after I had a potted plant thrown at my head.' Asuma laughed as I shook my head. Kurenai had a temper and with her hormones ricocheting around her body it made her more irritable. 'Thanks for taking her to the hot spring though she really enjoyed that.' he said a little embarrassed as I smiled and punched him playfully in the arm.

'No problem. It was for me too I needed to stretch my muscles and get them accustomed to movement so I could walk. I'm glad she enjoyed it.' I said as I noticed Iruka's class was gone. I said good bye to Asuma and took off jumping from tree to tree at a slower pace than normal to catch up with Iruka's class.

They were just crossing the little bridge as I landed behind a group of the students. They jumped when I landed gasping in surprise at my sudden appearance.

'Where did you come from yuki-sensei?!' I assumed Kiba's cousin asked as I grinned.

'That is a ninja secret' I said as he looked put out as Kiko giggled. I looked up to see Iruka looking at me as if he wanted to talk to me. 'I have to talk with Iruka-sensei just a second' I said as they nodded and I trotted to the front of the group.

'Yes Iruka-sensei?' I asked as he slowed the pace of the group a little.

'I just wanted to tell you about today's lessons. I'm going to discuss the fundamentals of different jutsus and then were going out to practice those and throwing some shuriken at some targets at the back of the school.' I nodded as Iruka smiled.

'It really isn't hard you just have to know how to duck, dive and dodge.' He laughed as I grinned. Kiko ran over and grabbed my hand as did Momo. Nobu, Kiba's cousin who turned out to be Kouga when I asked him and the panda girl who was Kagome all hung off of me or around me as we walked back to the academy.

'Do you have any really cool scars like Iruka-sensei?' Kouga asked as I laughed.

'I do but most of mine are hidden under my clothes.' I smiled as Kiko looked at me.

'Why do you wear a mask?' Nobu asked as I smiled.

'First its part of my culture from Ice country that everyone who becomes a genin must wear a face mask when on missions. Most people just wear them no matter what. Plus I wear mine because I find it fun to wear.' I said as Nobu looked confused.

'Doesn't it get really annoying or itchy?' he asked as I thought about it.

'To tell you the truth no. I've never really noticed' I said as Nobu shrugged and ran off to talk with the flinty eyed red head whom I learnt was named Katsu. We got back into class and everyone settled as Iruka dumped a tsunami of tests and assignments that needed to be marked on me. I sighed and took a seat at one of the empty desks at the back of the room and got to work correcting papers.

Iruka went about his lesson and had the class show him their clone jutsus. I looked up to see Nobu struggling as I looked at his chakra flow. He seemed to be struggling to harness the feel of his chakra flow so when he made his jutsu his clone looked transparent and had no face.

'Nobu if you cant get this right then you're never going to be a genin. So far you have failed all of your attempts at any jutsu. Do you even spend time practicing?' Iruka was clearly frustrated as Nobu grinned.

'I know one!' he chirped as I rested my head in my hand. This would be good. This kid reminded me of Naruto so there had to be some outrageous jutsu he had created. 'Ready Iruka-sensei?' he asked as Iruka sighed and rubbed the scar on his nose.

'Just show me anything Nobu' he said clearly irritated as there was a plume of smoke and instead of Nobu standing there was giving Iruka the middle finger.

'NOBU!' Iruka lost it as he sent him out of the room laughing. Iruka sighed as the rest of the class stared at their teacher with slight fear. 'Let's continue' he said as I went back to marking. I had finished marking all of the assignments as I noticed that Katsu was the last to go. He executed three clones easily as I stood and went about putting every ones assignments on their desk based upon the seating plan. I noticed Nobu sadly only got a 64% on the test as I handed it back to him he cheered about not failing as I handed Kiko hers. 100% she had even given excess information as I gave her back her test she grinned and stuffed it in her bag.

'Now class we're going outside to practice throwing shuriken and Jutsu that require space to execute' he said as the class all but ran out of the room. I guessed that this was their favorite part of the morning.

We went out to the back of the school where a bank or archery targets were set up. They looked rather old and beaten but if the worked that was all that mattered.

'Ok first we're going to work on our jutsu. Now most of you have already mastered the basic clone jutsu but I'm giving you two minutes and you have to use you hiding jutsu. Yuki-sensei and I are going to come find you. Now GO!' All the students took off as I raised an eyebrow at Iruka. He had a timer going as I looked at him.

'What are you going to do about Nobu-kun he doesn't seem like he understands how to channel his chakra properly' I said as Iruka nodded.

'I've tried teaching him but he's like Naruto and can only learn by doing. Plus he doesn't practice and he's headstrong. I'm going to make him write lines this evening after class. Do you have any ideas on how I can teach him?' he asked as I shook my head until the familiar face of Kakashi swam into my minds eye.

'Ask Kakashi-kun, he's had to deal with Naruto for the last…5 years or so. He might know a way to teach Nobu-kun' I said as Iruka looked like I had just told him that his desk was made of gold.

'That's a great idea!' he said as the timer went off and we went to find the students. Most of them were easy to find seeing as they hid themselves in shrubs and bushes and still didn't have the finesse to completely hide their chakra. I doubled back to count and see who we were missing. Katsu, Kagome, Kiko and Momo had not been found yet as I walked up the side of the school. Most of the students though it was so cool as I noticed a flicker and a slight chakra flare from beside me as I grabbed whoever was hiding on a window ledge using a transparency jutsu as I grabbed them. Kiko screamed and flailed as I had to grab her to keep her from falling.

'STOP!' I snapped as she went still. I sighed and walked back down the wall and set her on the ground. That's when I saw a flash of cream in the tree above me. I jumped and grabbed Momo as she screamed and I landed placing her beside Kiko. The two girls giggled and ran to join their classmates as I shook my head as I saw Iruka bring Kagome down from the cliff face as I heightened my senses looking for Katsu. I felt a slight chakra flare from my right as I heard something whistle toward me. I jumped landing on the wall and ran at the place where the shuriken had come from. I heard Iruka yelling as I jumped sideways pushing off from the wall. I grabbed Katsu and felt him make a substitution as I used a nearby tree to rebound pushing off and grabbing the kid and landing in front of Iruka. Katsu looked pissed that I had managed to catch him as I sighed and sat down on the grass. I hurt everywhere from that little stunt as I lay down and groaned.

'Oh man that was so AWESOME!' there were cheers and shouts as I lay on the ground wondering why I had done that as every fiber of my being screamed at me.

'Are you alright?' Iruka asked as I lay on the ground.

'Just give me a minute' I said as he nodded helping me to my feet. I laughed as Iruka steadied me and took most of my weight on himself.

'Don't push yourself too much Yuki-san' Iruka whispered as I felt a rather large chakra flare from behind me as I turned to see a flash of silver, orange, green, and black disappear up the side of the school. So Kakashi was spying on me. How cute. I recovered enough to walk on my own as Iruka congratulated the girls on being the best at hiding and scolded Katsu for throwing a shuriken at me when I was still recovering from severe internal wounds. Most of the students were amazed that I could do anything like what I had without dying after Iruka explained that I was teaching because I wasn't well enough to do missions.

We moved onto shuriken throwing which was more of a training session in ducking, diving, dodging and throwing students out of the way as the deadly little metal stars flew through the air.

'Iruka-sensei!' one girl screamed as I caught the shuriken Nobu had thrown that had taken a sharp right turn at the last second. I sighed as I felt one slice my arm. I sighed and pulled the sharp little instrument out and applied pressure to the wound. Kagome had her hands over her mouth and looked near tears.

'I'm so sorry Yuki-sensei!' she gushed as I healed the little cut. She didn't have much power yet so it wasn't deep.

'It's alright Kagome-chan remember practice makes perfect' I said as Kouga was showing off and threw the shuriken backwards I dove into the dirt grabbing Kagome and Kiko with me as Iruka threw two of the other students out of the way and jumped backward as the shuriken landed with a thud in a nearby tree.

'KOUGA!' I snapped lying in the dirt as kagome and Kiko looked like they might cry.

'um..oops?' he grinned as I glared at him.

'Do you want me to bring Kiba-kun here and make you throw shuriken at him?' I demanded as he suddenly went extremely pale.

'What about my Yuki-chan?' Kiba called jumping the gate as he noticed my lying in the dirt. 'what happened?' he looked around then at the scared looking Kouga.

'Kouga-kun here thought it would be fun to throw a shuriken backwards' I said as Kiba gave his cousin a feral look. Kouga looked like he was going to pee himself as Kiba gave him a very unimpressed look. Kouga's puppy that I noticed looked like a little wolf cringed under the older Inuzuka's look.

'Kouga, listen to Iruka-sensei and Yuki-chan. I will have to tell aunt Kikyo about this.' He said as Kouga looked near tears.

'I'm sorry!' he apologized as I put a hand on his shoulder.

'It's alright. Just never do that again. Never make a move that can cause more damage to your comrades then the enemy. Ever.' I said as Kouga nodded through his tears.

'baby' I heard Katsu whisper as I rounded on him.

'I dare you to say that again Katsu' I said as the red head looked at me.

'I said 'baby'' he stated as I glared at the young man.

'What family are you from?' I asked as he glared up at me.

'Nara' he said as I nodded. He was probably Shikamaru's cousin as Kiba snorted.

'He's a great deal more snippy than Nara is. Doesn't seem nearly as lazy either' Kiba laughed as Katsu rounded on him with icy eyes.

'You're on thin ice there Kiba-kun' I said as he waved me off.

'oh well I'll drop by and talk to Nara too. Seems like you have your hands full this year Iruka-sensei. Well I'll see you later oh and Yuki-chan Sasuke and Chouji said to meet them at Ichiraku after work.' He said giving me a hug and disappearing with Akamaru on his heels.

'Well that was random. But at least you don't have to call their parents now' Iruka said as we packed up and headed inside for lunch. I nodded. Kiba was a good guy, coarse and rude but still I liked him as a person.

Iruka and I headed to the teachers lounge for Lunch as we met up with Shikamaru, Genma, and surprisingly most of the other jounin teachers minus Kakashi.

'Yuki-san, you beautiful blossom of youth. You are alright and teaching what a noble cause for your talents while you are recovering from your horrendous affair!' Gai exclaimed as he flashed a smile and I swear I went blind. As a teacher's aid screamed and ran into the wall. I grabbed a pair of sunglasses off of the table and put them on.

'Nice to see you too Gai-san' I said as he grinned and struck the most awkward pose I had ever seen in my life. I sat down on the couch beside Shikamaru and sighed. It was so nice to sit down and relax as Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at the cut in my uniform.

'Kagome flicked her wrist throwing shuriken and made it turn right at the last second and I had to block another student' I said as he nodded.

'I heard my cousin Katsu is giving you some problems.' He commented as I sighed.

'He's like how Sasuke was in your class Shikamaru-kun' Iruka said as the teen sighed and looked back at the papers he was grading.

'Troublesome. Did Kiba go and talk to the families?' he asked as I nodded and he sighed. 'Katsu is going to be in a world of trouble from his mother' he commented as Iruka laughed.

'Your family always seems to pick the most volatile women' Genma laughed as Shikamaru shook his head.

'I call it a family curse.' He said as I laughed realizing he was dating Temari and she was not a mild tempered woman in any sense.

'Aw, Temari-chan isn't bad. She can be really sweet. Give her some Cacti blooms for valentines day she'll love you forever. Yellow is her favorite colour as a heads up' I said as Shikamaru looked at me.

'Temari-chan has never been very loving more so violent. Are you sure cacti blooms will work?' he said as I nodded.

'Ask Ino-chan the flower shop just got a massive supply of flowers in and she especially ordered yellow cacti blooms. Tell Ino-chan I sent you and she might even give you a discount because it's Temari-chan' I winked as Shikamaru blushed slightly. I looked up to notice every man in the room was looking at me. 'What?' I asked as Asuma laughed. I hadn't noticed he came in as Iruka cracked a grin, Gai gave me a thumbs up, Genma grinned and even a few teachers I didn't know were smiling at me.

'Hey since you're giving out valentines day advice what do you think I should get Kurenai?' Asuma asked as I grinned wickedly.

'Well you gave her poppies didn't you? Well I'd say daffodil's for Kurenai-chan' I said as Asuma nodded. I looked at Genma.

'I'm not telling you anything man whore' I stated as everyone burst out laughing. Even Genma seemed amused as he shrugged.

'Red roses always work for me for both sexes' he said and winked as I rolled my eyes. I liked rare flowers but I guess he really wasn't looking for a complex woman or man just someone to sleep with him. Gai and Iruka kept silent as I assumed they didn't have anyone for valentine's day. It was sad really as I thought that I'd drop by the flower shop tonight and send them both yellow roses for friendship and get Ino to drop them off for me.

'What about you Yuki-san, what are your favorite flowers?' Iruka asked as I sat back and thought for a minute. Flowers. Wow I really never thought about it.

'Hm… I would have to say orchids, snowdrops, and Lilac' I said thinking of all of the flowers I had seen in my travels. 'I don't know if you can get any of those flowers here' I said as Iruka shrugged but wrote them down. Oh what was the little teacher up to now? I opened my lunch and munched away laughing at the various tales the teachers told about their students and the random moments they'd had.

The rest of the day passed in a flurry of paper work history lessons and tactical lessons as I helped Iruka pack up all of his stuff and my stuff that I would have to mark tonight.

'Thanks for splitting the work Yuki-san its really nice to have you here' he said as I smiled.

'I'm enjoying this even with some of your more mouthy students' I laughed as Iruka laughed too. We split ways as I headed for Ichiraku. I lifted my bag with all of my paperwork as Kiko and Momo ran past me.

'Sorry Yuki-sensei!' they yelled giggling as I turned to see Nobu looking rather confused and Katsu just plain annoyed as a group of girls tagged along behind him. I smiled and turned the corner to see Sasuke, Kiba, and Chouji stood outside Ichiraku. Sasuke was silent as the other two teens chatted as Sasuke waved when he saw me. I smiled and met up with them.

'Hey what did you guys want to meet me about?' I asked as all three of them grinned rather evilly. 'Uh guys?' I asked as Kiba grabbed my arm and dragged me into a weapons shop.

'Now pick out anything!' Chouji said as I noticed Naruto, Shino, Kankuro, Gaara, Neji and Lee were all standing in the store.

'why are you guys doing this?' I asked as most of the boys had the grace to blush.

'No reason. We just thought it would be a nice gift to give you for valentine's day from all of us.' Naruto said as I smiled.

'Awww thanks guys!' I said looking around the shop as I noticed a Tanto high up on the wall. It was the same red colour as Akane with blossoms carved into the sheath and in the hilt as I wondered what had happened to my beloved sword after I had been kidnapped. It was probably broken or lost. Sasuke caught sight of me staring at the Tanto as he grabbed it from its place on the wall. I held it and noticed it was perfectly balanced and it was a chakra blade. It was an expensive piece of weaponry as I put it back. There was no way that even if they all pooled their money together that they could afford the blade.

I looked around the room as I noticed Sasuke, Naruto and Neji conversing in a corner as Chouji and Lee were talking to me about a pair of senbon needle hair sticks. I decided to buy them as Lee grabbed them and ran to the counter as Shikamaru waltzed in apologizing for being late as Neji waved him over. I wondered what they were up to as Lee returned with the hair sticks. I thanked all of them and put my hair up with them. They all seemed to like my choice as I grinned.

'Yuki-chan!' I heard Ino come into the store as I blinked as did the boys. Ino grinned at all of them. 'Sorry boys but I have to steal Yuki-chan!' she gushed as I blinked and was dragged out of the weapons shop.

'Where are we going?' I asked as Ino grinned and dragged me into the flower shop. It was really busy as Ino dragged me past the flower coolers and into the back room that was filled with boxes of flowers and was air conditioned. Ino closed the door behind her and grinned.

'Oh my goodness you'll never guess who came into the store about an hour ago!' she gushed as I guessed.

'uh….Itachi?' I asked as Ino gave me a dark look.

'No! not your brother, Kakashi-sensei! He placed a huge order too! Ooh… I'm so excited but mother wouldn't let me see what he wrote in the card.' She giggled as there was a knock on the door and Sakura stuck her head in.

'hey your mother wants more red roses up front and I came as soon as Temari-chan told me' she giggled as I helped Ino carry three armfuls of roses out to the front coolers of the store.

'Everyone seems to be giving me stuff lately its rather scary.' I said as Sakura shook her head.

'No not really. You've really changed a lot of people for the better here. Iruka-sensei is more open and I even saw him on a date the other day with Kairi from the Anbu division last week. All of the boys are amazed at how nice you are to Sasuke and Naruto and actually give the younger generation the time of day. Plus you have the one man that everyone thought would die alone trailing after you and have changed him so much its frightening.' Sakura smiled as Temari nodded.

'Which is why all of the girls pooled our money together and went out today and bought you a few gifts.' Ino giggled as I was worried. What did they get me? Judging by Ino's sluttish look and Sakura's giggles it was something inappropriate. I sighed as I told the girls about Shikamaru probably coming in to order flowers for Temari either today or tomorrow so to save any yellow cactus flowers they may have. Ino gushed again over how she loved valentines day as I saw Kiba come into the store with Naruto who looked more than a little nervous.

I walked out and greeted them as Kiba blushed and Naruto stammered a hello.

'Here to get flowers for Hinata?' I asked as Naruto nodded and Kiba grinned. 'Who are you here for?' I asked Kiba as he grinned and rubbed the back of his neck.

'well, uh, you see… um… I'mheretogetflowersforIno-chan' Kiba breathed as a wicked grin slid onto my face. I hugged him as he went bright red.

'Just give me a second!' I said disappearing into the back room where Ino and Hinata were waiting shifting through boxes of flowers. 'Hey Ino-chan what are you favorite flowers?' I asked as Ino looked around the room.

'I'd have to say Orange blossoms and purple heather' She smiled as I nodded. I did like orange blossoms and heather just was annoying.

'What about you Sakura, and Hinata and TenTen?' I asked as Sakura bounced forward.

'I know Hinata loves Queen Anne's lace and sunflowers. I love cherry blossoms and forget-me-nots and I know TenTen has always loved tiger lilies and daisies.' Sakura smiled as I nodded and remembered I wanted to place orders with Ino.

'Oh Ino-chan that reminds me I wanted to place two orders of yellow roses and elderberry blossoms for both Gai-san and Iruka-kun' I said as Ino giggled and ran out of the room to place the order. I followed at a more sedate pace as I noticed Naruto and Kiba were now talking to Sasuke and Neji. I grinned and made my way over.

'I think I can help you boys.' I said keeping tabs on Ino and Sakura as I told them what each of their girlfriends or prospective girlfriends wanted in the way of flowers.

'hey boys!' Ino smiled as they all smiled at her. She giggled and teased them about never seeing them in the flower shop before.

'Some of us never had a reason' Kiba said with underlying warmth that made Ino blush. I grinned as I saw Asuma walk in. I excused myself and walked over to the broad shouldered jounin.

'Hey Asuma-kun!' I called as he looked over at me. I was about the same height as Anko as I came to stand roughly just under his nose as I sighed. I hated being so short. Even Sakura and Hinata were the same height as me and I had 8 years on them! Totally unfair.

'Hey! I didn't know you'd be here.' He smiled as I nodded toward the cluster of boys laughing at something Ino or Sakura had said. I smiled as Asuma placed his order with Ino's mother.

'So how are the little terrors?' Asuma asked as I shook my head.

'I never want to do shuriken training with them ever again. It was bloody brutal' I sighed as Asuma shook his head.

'That was why I took on a genin team. Before that they're so difficult to deal with. You have to have an ocean of patience like Iruka-san.' He said as I nodded. Iruka was such a calm man it was amazing. I had never seen anyone who could keep their cool for so long.

'Well tell Kurenai-chan hello for me. I'm going to head home and do some paperwork' I stated as Asuma nodded and I left the little flower shop. My hair was falling down as I danced a little in the street. I had no idea why I was in such a good mood but why let it go to waste. I danced down the street as I knocked into a rather solid figure. I apologized only to noticed it was Kankuro as he looked down at me with a huge grin.

'Hey Sensei!' he laughed as I grinned.

'hey yourself what's up?' I asked as he shrugged and showed me the little trinket he had picked up for one of the Konoha girls he had a crush on. I giggled and gave him a hug as he blushed slightly under his war paint. I said good bye to him as I told him to say Hi to Gaara for me and that if he wanted to talk to me I was now at the Uchiha residence.

We split up as I headed home and locked myself in my room for the next four hours of marking that I shifted through between painting my nails, putting away my new spare uniforms and Ino and Sakura's present which happened to be a lovely violet dress and some rather interesting under garments that I actually tried on. I hated thongs, stupid butt floss as it took me 20 minutes to figure out how the hell to put on the lingerie and another 20 to get the black and purple corset baby doll laced up and the stupid little hooks slipped onto the garters. I looked like a stripper as I burst out laughing. I totally did not have the figure to be a lingerie model as I looked at all of the scars covering my body. Why anyone would want to wear this much lace was beyond me as I took off my mask tank and looked at myself. I really did look like Sasuke's sister with my mask off. Except for the rings of scars along my neck and the one that was parallel with my nose I looked damn hot I had to admit. I noticed I even had a nice little set of ruffles that fell off my butt like some weird waterfall and purple bows on my hips.

There was a knock on my door.

'Just a second!' I called throwing the dress over the lingerie, amazingly the dress hid the lingerie just as I noticed that the purple dress was rather slinky too cutting across one shoulder and ending in a long cut that swept opposite of the shoulder cut exposing the fishnet stockings I had on. I threw on my face mask too tucking it over my front. 'come in' I sighed as I noticed it was just Sakura as she squealed and jumped up and down gushing over how amazing I looked as Naruto dared to look around the corner. As soon as he saw me he spurted blood from his nose and fell to the ground twitching. I took that as A good sign as Sasuke came to investigate the noise.

When Sasuke saw me he went bright red and turned and left the room immediately. I burst out laughing as Sasuke dragged a muttering Naruto behind him away from my bedroom.

'I want to see the lingerie!' Sakura said closing my door and locking it as I stripped the dress off. Sakura sat on my bed as she gave me an annoyed sigh. 'Take off the mask!' she demanded as I shook my head.

'Why not?' Sakura asked as I sighed. I decided that Sakura was my closest friend here as I went over and closed the blinds on both of my windows.

'I'll show you but you must never tell anyone what you see alright?' I stated as Sakura nodded. I turned away from her and pulled off the mask. It was weird, it felt like I was naked as I turned around to face Sakura. She gasped as I wanted to throw my hands over my neck and face.

'Oh my god Yuki-chan you're so beautiful! Why do you wear that mask? You look exactly like Sasuke's mother she was so stunning.' Sakura was in awe as I looked at my face in the mirror all I could see were the scars that marred my neck and face that made me remember my fallen teammates.

'Cant you see these scars Sakura?' I whispered not looking at her as I traced the largest one.

'Yes, but every kunoichi has scars, that's no reason to hide your face' Sakura said as I sighed and looked away from the mirror.

'That's true but at least your scars don't remind you of how you were powerless to stop your entire team from being murdered because you were too slow and weak' I felt tears coming on as I choked them back. Damn I was still weak if I cried over someone seeing my scars. I felt Sakura hug me as I returned it.

'Yuki-chan believe me, I have more than my fair share of those scars on my body. From not being fast enough or strong enough to protect Sasuke-kun or Naruto-kun when they really needed it but I've grown and become stronger so that I can help them.' She said as I sighed. I knew she was trying to make me feel better but there was a key difference between Sakura and I.

'I appreciate your concern Sakura-chan but the difference is that Sasuke-kun who is more precious to you than anything else is still alive. That was taken from me because I couldn't defend myself or him and he sacrificed himself to save me. Naruto, your best friend, is still alive to laugh and go to the movies and train with You. My best friend was taken from me because I couldn't dodge fast enough and he took the attack to save me from harm. Sakura-chan I know that you understand loss. Your parents are gone, Sasuke disappeared once and you feared he was dead but you always had people supporting you. I never did. That's why I hide my face. I cant stand remembering that every single time I look in the mirror.' I said quietly as Sakura had tears streaming down her face.

She slapped me as I blinked and held my hand to my cheek. That was one good slap I could feel the bruise forming as Sakura gave me and angry look.

'You're exactly the same as Kakashi-sensei. You cant look past your friends and loved one's deaths to move on to be happy. You're going to kill yourself if you don't let this go!' she snapped as I sighed. I knew Sakura was right and I was much better at trying to live happily than I had been after they had died. I knew all everyone wanted was my happiness.

'I know Sakura-chan but I'm still going to wear my mask but if you want I'll take it off when I'm home with just you, Sasuke-kun, and Naruto-kun and maybe Kakashi-kun if he ever feels like talking to me again' I said as Sakura seemed to brighten at the thought.

'you're still amazingly hot' she laughed as I smiled and twirled around.

'I feel like a stripper' I teased pulling my leg up by my head as Sakura burst into giggles as I did a crazy little dance and attempted to salsa in the frilly lingerie. It was really funny

and embarrassing but I didn't care I was having fun.

I changed back into a baggy sweater and some Pj's pants putting my mask in my sweater's pocket and headed downstairs to finish my marking. I passed Naruto and Sasuke as I sat at the kitchen table and munched on an orange as I graded more history papers. Naruto wandered into the kitchen as he screamed when he saw me without my face mask. Sasuke jumped up to check out what was going on as he froze in his tracks. I smiled at them before going back to marking.

'Mask, face, Sasuke, mother' Naruto couldn't make a comprehensive sentence as I laughed and sat the two confused boys down. I tried to make Sasuke move as he suddenly grabbed me in a bone crushing hug. That's when I noticed he was shaking. I felt water soak through my shirt as I heard a muffled sob. Sasuke was crying as Naruto still seemed dazed.

'Sh, it's alright Nii-chan' I ran my hand over his back and through his hair. I knew it would be a shock for Sasuke to see my face especially since everyone kept saying I looked so much like our mother. I didn't know where Sakura was as Sasuke held onto me like I was a phantom about to vanish.

'Sasuke-kun?' I asked as he pulled away long enough to look at me critically. I gave a small smile as he actually gave a smile.

'You look so much like her it's frightening' he muttered as I hugged him and he hugged me back. I knew this is where I belonged as I sighed and Sasuke laughed. Actually laughed! When we let go I went back to marking as Sasuke sat beside me and asked various questions about the tests I was grading. Personally I didn't know much about the history of Konoha or about ninja's in general I was just going off of Iruka's answer sheet.


	22. Valentines and shit hits the fan

(OK BIG WARNING: now this an M rated fanfic. So therein there are going to be mature scenes. AKA lemons,… and talking about Yaoi (as in gay relations) NOT yaoi Lemons. This isn't a fanfic about it but it is discussed so if you don't want to read then I'm sorry but this explains some things in the story to move it along. I will also give you warnings in advance if you feel like skipping… no flames! Now onward!)

The next week seemed to fly by I was so busy. The academy work had me running in circles between shuriken, kunai and beginning taijutsu lessons for the kids, marking theory, history, language, math and tactical homework I hadn't a spare moment to even pee unless I took some marking with me. It was crazy as Friday evening rolled around. It had been a long valentines day at school as kids traded valentines with one another. Iruka and I got cards too and they were now sitting snugly in a box that Kiko had made for me and Momo had made on for Iruka as all of my valentines were secure on top off all of my marking I had for the weekend.

I past the flower shop as I noticed men and boys picking up flowers for their dates later this evening as I waved to Kiba and Shino as they waved back heading toward the Inuzuka compound. I shifted my back pack as I felt lighter than I had in ages.

Tonight was a special night.

I got to see Kakashi.

I sang to myself in English as I walked home. I was feeling much better than I had when I had gotten out of the hospital. I could walk and jog now and run small distances. I had very little physical stamina but if I continued training with the children I would be back to normal in a fraction of the time Tsunade had allotted me.

'Hey gorgeous have any plans for tonight?' I heard a sly voice as I turned around to see Genma grinning at me standing on a high wall. I raised an eyebrow as I saw Kotetsu standing not to far from me. I looked up at Genma as Kotetsu blinked. I looked at Kotetsu as he looked at me.

'I don't think he's talking to me Kotetsu-san' I said as Genma laughed and jumped off of the wall.

'As stunning as you are Yuki-san I don't mess with other men's girls, or other girl's men. So I was indeed talking to Kotetsu-kun here' he winked as I swear Kotetsu turned a light shade of pink under his bandage. I laughed and continued on my way singing to myself as the jounin and chounin went off to dinner and sex I presumed.

I turned the last corner as I had Nori, Pakkun, Yasu, and Chairo jump on me knocking me to the ground.

'How was work?' Nori asked as I glared up at the massive cat that now had me pinned to the cold damp road.

'it was good until you pinned me on the cold damp road' I stated as Nori flicked an ear.

'Minor details. If you had fur you wouldn't notice it.' She said as her ear flicked again. I caught on as her ear kept flicking back and forth toward the house.

'Well if I cant go into the house can I at least get up I don't want to damage the valentines the kids gave me too badly. Bad luck you know' I said as Nori let me up. I brushed off my uniform making sure there weren't any more tears in it that the ones from taijutsu that afternoon. I sighed and stood outside the compound with the animals as a few people gave me weird looks as I waited in my uniform outside of the main gates.

'Can I go in now?' I demanded as Nori growled and grabbed the hem of my vest in her mouth and started dragging me in the opposite direction of the house.

'No, we're going to meet Ino at the flower shop.' Nori growled as I planted my feet but Nori dragged me easily. It was quite a sight really seeing me cursing and screaming as the cat carried me by them hem of my vest like a giant kitten through the streets.

'PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW I AM GOING HOME AND SHOWERING AND TAKING A NAP I HAVE WORKED ALL DAY TEACHING EVIL SPAWNS OF SATAN NOW LET. ME. DOWN!' I roared as I noticed we were at the flower shop and Nori dropped me. 'Ass' I stated and stood entering the store. Ino stood at the counter looking distinctly put out as she handed another customer a large bouquet of flowers.

'Hey Ino-chan' I said rather dejectedly as Ino gave me a bland hi. 'what are you so blah about?' I asked as Ino sighed and pouted.

'Not only did Sasuke, Naruto, and Neji come in and pick up bouquets but Kiba did too and it was my two favorite types of flowers in the bouquet. Whoever gets that is one lucky girl.' She pouted as I coughed to cover my laugh at Ino's obvious lack of insight.

'Well I guess I have to stay here until Kakashi and the trio finish whatever I'm not supposed to see.' I laughed as Ino shrugged. Obviously she wasn't in on these plans as I sighed and took a seat on a bar stool behind the counter. I helped Ino hand out flowers for over an hour before I saw Sakura and Sasuke walking toward the shop. Ino looked totally irritated as the bell over the door jingled and Kiba walked in. I grinned and excused myself heading outside as I watched Kiba stutter and blush and finally ask Ino out shoving the flowers in front of him almost as a plea.

Ino jumped the table and hugged the boy as I burst out laughing. Sakura giggled and Sasuke looked amused as I looped my arms with theirs and headed back to the house. I sang again as Sakura asked me a million questions about the English language as I answered as best as I could. Sasuke just seemed to like the singing as I continued even though they were silly little songs like row your boat, green sleeves, one Yuuto and I had made up about saucepans that made me break down into laughter every time I got halfway through it just because it was so silly.

We entered the compound as I noticed little lamps had been lit in the trees. Sakura and Sasuke said goodbye to me and headed out for their own dinner as I followed the little path of lights to a stone lantern in the koi pond garden. Inside the stone lantern was a little set of tea lights and a folded piece of red origami paper in the shape of a snowflake. I opened it and it read:

_Go change and freshen up then follow this riddle to find the next clue:_

_I listen to you everyday and every night. Standing as I silent guardian to tell your friends and family you love them even if they aren't beside you._

I nearly died laughing. So Kakashi had planned a little game of hide and seek with riddled clues. I re-read the riddle as the location came to me. The stone memorial by training ground 3. I giggled and put the red piece of paper in my pocket as I headed inside. I showered and changed into the outfit Sakura and Ino had bought me as I noticed how well I could actually move in it. My guess was that they brought Hinata with them to fit everything as I nearly died of laughter thinking of poor Hinata blushing crimson dressed in the lingerie I was in now.

I jumped out my window taking the rooftops as I found the lingerie amazingly easy to move in underneath the silky gown as I jumped over a chimney and I'm sure flashed whomever was below me. I didn't really care as I made my way to the training ground. One I got there I hunted for the paper which was sitting beside a single blue lantern. The next clue had be going to Ichiraku as once I got there and made several men pass out do to nosebleeds I had the next clue which led me to the academy. From the academy I went to the main gate where Izumo gave me the last clue which led me to the top of the Hokage mountain. I was so tired by this point. I really had no physical endurance as I jumped my way up the cliff face. When I reached the top I flopped to the ground. This was way too much work as I heard a very familiar and very missed amused chuckle.

'You understood the riddles' he said his voice sliding thought the darkness like water as I got to my feet. I noticed he was standing under one of the large trees that ran in a crescent shape around the front of the cliff.

'it's a sin to make someone recovering do that much running' I gasped as he chuckled and stepped out of the shadows. I could've died happily in that moment as I saw Kakashi. He still wore his mask but had taken off his forehead protector opting for an eye patch that immediately think of a pirate as I giggled. He looked at himself as I noticed the navy dress shirt and grey tie that matched his hair and black dress pants. He even gave up his sandals for dress shoe as he laughed.

'I think I look stupid do you?' he asked sounding a little unsure of himself as I crossed the small clearing at a run and hugged him, well more like slammed into him. He jumped at the sudden contact as I buried my face into his chest.

'You look amazing Kashi-kun. You even attempted to tame your crazy hair' I giggled reaching and running a hand through his still unruly locks that now were slightly less vertical and more flat with massive amounts of hair gel. He gave a deep chuckle as I sighed and hugged him more closely. I had missed this. I had missed him. Everything about Kakashi I missed even his perverted little novels that I could feel in his back pocket as I grabbed it from there.

'Hey!' he reached for the little item as I jumped back holding the little novella between us. He raised an eyebrow as I grinned.

'Now that I have a hostage I want some answers' I stated as Kakashi sighed.

'I knew you would never let anything go and I agree my actions were definitely inexcusable but needed to be done.' he said as he moved and sat down on a little bench. I came closer and sat at the opposite end just out of his reach as I set the book on the opposite side of me.

'So I talked to Pakkun about Obito and Cho. I understand why you wanted to be alone to sort out your feelings but… did you have to completely block me out?' I asked as Kakashi looked at me with his warm chocolate eye that seemed rather sad.

'I know it seemed harsh but yes. I needed to…talk with them.' He said as I nodded. I guess I understood, the dream I had where Yuuto told me to move on was all the encouragement I needed. I guess I had a vision or his ghost visited me or something freaky like that or I was just plain crazy that was entirely possible.

'I understand. I had a talk with Yuuto awhile ago.' I confessed as Kakashi looked at me and smiled.

'Well now that we have all of our skeletons cleaned up, ready to go out?' he asked as I grinned like a fool.

'Of course! But first here' I handed him back his little book as he went to grab it but I opened it to take a peak. I blinked… this was not Icha Icha it was one of my books from my room. It was actually a romance novel that one of my friends had written and was definitely not as perverted as Icha Icha. I looked at him as he rubbed the back of his neck.

'I ran out of things to read?' his answer was lame and he knew it as I laughed and kissed his cheek.

'It's alright I don't mind. It's a good book.' I said as Kakashi gave me a warm and loving look. I smiled as he slid down the bench and hugged me again. I sighed as I looked out at Konoha and all of its little lights.

'I have a present for you' Kakashi whispered as I looked up.

'You really shouldn't have gotten me anything Kashi-kun' I said as he gave a quiet chuckle and leaned over the side of the bench and drew out Akane. I gasped and grabbed the sword hugging it to my chest. 'Where did you find it?' I asked as he smiled and ran a hand through my hair.

'You dropped it when you were stabbed before that bastard kidnapped you' he said sadly as I sighed and gave Kakashi the biggest hug I could. He laughed as I looked up at him.

'Don't blame yourself for that. besides its Valentine's day and you put a lot of work into this night so lets not ruin it' I smiled as he smiled and stood.

'Speaking of not ruining things I think our supper should be ready' he said as I looked confused.

'Where are we going?' I asked as Kakashi didn't say anything but picked me up bridal style. 'hey! Put me down I'm not a sack of potatoes!' I flailed as a blindfold went over my face. I resigned myself to being carried as Kakashi didn't say anything but took off running. He was extremely gentle with me I never understood why he treated me like I was made of glass or was going to vanish at an instant as he slowed to a walk.

I heard soft murmurs of talking as Kakashi set me on the ground and stood behind me with his hands on my upper arms. I leant back against him as he chuckled before steering me toward where the soft murmuring was coming form as everything went silent. All I could hear was crickets and the wind in the trees as I felt Kakashi shift and his warm breath tickle my ear.

'Ready for your surprise?' he whispered as I froze. Surprise? He hadn't mentioned anything about a surprise. His breath tickled me ear as I resisted the urge to giggle and swat him away as I collected my nerve and nodded. I felt his hands move as suddenly the blind fold was gone and everyone sprang from their hiding places.

'SURPRISE! HAPPY VALENTINES DAY YUKI-CHAN!' the chorus rang as I jumped about four feet into the air then hid behind Kakashi when the fireworks went off. Kakashi burst out laughing as did a few other people as I came out from behind him slightly blushing like a fire truck.

'Hey everyone!' I waved as I think the entire ninja community was here with their dates or family. Kakashi grabbed my hand as we joined the group of people. Naruto and Hinata both gave me hugs as did Sasuke and Sakura. I noticed there were bowls of orchids, snowdrops, and some lilac bonsai's were scattered around the Uchiha's main compound. I looked over to see Chouji waving at me while his parents prepared food. I gave him a hug and thanked him and his family as he laughed and told me to wait until after I tasted the food. Ino and Kiba found me as I laughed at the sight of poor blushing Kiba being dragged around by an ecstatic Ino.

I looked up at Kakashi as he gave me one of his special eye smiles as I kissed his cheek. There was a whoop as I looked to see Asuma, Kurenai, Anko, Gai, Iruka, Genma and Kotetsu grinning at us. I laughed and grabbed Kakashi kissing him senseless as a cheer went up from the jounins and a few of the teens who saw.

'GO YUKI-CHAN!' I heard Naruto shout as I broke away and fixed my mask as Kakashi's was back on before anyone noticed. He looked rather dazed as I burst out laughing and he seemed to recover.

'I'll get you back for that' he whispered huskily as I giggled and swatted at his hand that had strayed to my butt.

'Later' I said as I went to talk to Asuma and Kurenai. I couldn't believe how fun the evening was. The food was amazing I couldn't stop eating it was crazy! They had managed to create a dance floor so I danced not only with Kakashi which was amazing in itself but with the other girls. Kurenai declined dancing because she was so large and said her feet hurt. Asuma stayed with her and doted on her in every way.

It was well into the early hours of the morning as I lay back against Kakashi's chest. He was resting his chin on my head as we watched the stars from the roof of his house in the Uchiha compound. The party was still in full swing as we had snuck off just to be alone. I bet that Ino and the Sakura thought I was doing the horizontal tango with Kakashi at the moment but maybe later. At the moment I was just enjoying being in his company.

'They're so beautiful' I sighed seeing a shooting star wink in and out of existence in a second.

'Yes you are' Kakashi muttered as I rolled my eyes and laughed. He gave a rumbling chuckle that I felt through my back. 'too cheesy?' he asked as I shook my head.

'no, no its fine. You're pretty handsome yourself Copy ninja' I said looking up to see his chin. He gave a rumbling laugh as I shifted because my legs were falling asleep. I turned so we were facing one another as I looked at Kakashi. He had loosened his tie and undone the first few buttons on his shirt as I reached out and took off his eye patch. He closed both of his eyes until I had removed the eye patch completely as he opened them. The sharingan spun to focus on me as I smiled and reached for his mask. He jerked back as I gave him an irritated look.

'Why do you do that. I've see you without your mask before and you're stunning! Why do you wear that thing?' I asked as Kakashi looked away from me. I waited running my thumb idly over the side of the soft eye patch.

'Because I look exactly like my father' he spat as I blinked and then recalled why Kakashi hated his father so much. I sighed and grabbed his face making him look at me. He seemed angry as I gave him a glacier glare.

'I never met your father. I don't know what he looks like. To me your face is yours and I love it like I love you. That may scare you but I don't care.' I said as Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

'I've never seen under your mask either' he said as I sighed.

'Do you really want to see my face? It'll probably scare you' I said as he gave me an unbelieving look. 'What I'm not a stunning person to look at' I said as he rolled his eyes in a very Yuki like fashion. I grinned and went to take down my own mask as I grabbed his and jerked it down. He didn't make a move to fix it as I blinked a few times. Damn he was good looking!

'Yuki-chan?' he asked shaking me a little as my head cleared.

'I'm going to have to get used to you without your mask.' I laughed as he shrugged a slight blush covering his cheeks as he gave a shy smile. AWWW SO CUTE!!! Kakashi was shy. I gave him a hug as he sneakily jerked my own mask down. I hid my face in his chest as he laughed.

'Oh no, I want to see this.' He said as I sighed and sat back. I gave a slight smile as Kakashi seemed to freeze. I blinked as he gently reached forward and traced the scar that ran along the side of my nose, then he crossed and traced the ones that connected with the long ropey ones that ran in rings around my neck.

'how?' he whispered shock on his face as I sighed and looked at my hands.

'It was the attack the killed Yuuto and Akio. They both saved me from the worst of the attacks but I was caught with wire. Itachi-sensei managed to heal my neck enough to stop the worst of the blood flow but they couldn't fix the scars because I was nearly decapitated.' I told him as I felt him gently lift my head to look at him. He looked almost like he might cry as he smiled and I thought my heart stopped.

'You're beautiful Yuki' he breathed as he kissed me. It was an amazing feeling as I fisted my hands in his now tousled hair. He ran his hands along my face and down to my neck as I sighed and broke away from him. Kakashi looked like he was drugged as I grinned and he picked me up and jumped through the window.

(NOTE: NC-17 just a warning!)

I giggled as I noticed that we were in his bedroom. It was decorated with orchid and had the smell of lilacs as Kakashi grinned at me. I laughed as he gave a growl and jumped at me from across the room. I giggled as he tackled me to the fluffy bed and began trailing kisses all over my neck. He kissed his way to the junction of where my neck met my shoulder and scraped his teeth against the skin there. I moaned then giggled as his warm breath tickled my neck.

He kissed my neck as I ran my hands through his hair. I grabbed his shoulder's and rolled so that I was sitting on his hips and I pulled off his tie throwing over my shoulder as I undid the buttons on his dress shirt. It was amazingly silky as Kakashi's large hands pulled me down for another kiss as I rid him of his dress shirt. Kakashi really was pale as I noticed the red tattoo on his right arm. So Kakashi was in ANBU at one point as he deftly undid the zipper at the back of my dress. I broke away from Kakashi and stood up letting the dress fall to the floor.

I gave Kakashi a smoldering look as I think I nearly killed him. He looked like Christmas had come early as I giggled at his reaction.

'See something you like?' I asked grinning like a cat as he sat bolt upright and jumped from the bed at me. My back hit the wall as his lips crashed on mine. He ran his hands up the sides of the corset and back down to grab my ass and pull me flush against him. I giggled as he sucked on my lip causing me to moan and nearly turn to putty as I tried to focus as my hands met his belt and his pants. I rid him of those as his obvious want of me was pressed against me. I gave a purr as Kakashi slid his hand down my leg to wrap it over his hip. He worked his way up and undid the corset as it fell to the floor with our other discarded clothes. Kakashi moved his hands down to undo the clips holding up my stockings as he pulled back and gave me his own smoldering look as my hands traced his chest my thumbs tweaking his nipples as he groaned and arched into me slightly as I reached forward and kissed my way from his lips to his jaw line then down his neck to where I could feel his pulse hammering through his veins. I bit down and sucked as Kakashi bucked against me and I grinned letting go as he picked me up and lay me on the bed.

I was only wearing the black thong as Kakashi groaned when he looked at me lying underneath him.

'I was given a goddess' he whispered as I grinned and threw a leg over his hip.

'But I was given Adonis' I said as he grinned wolfishly at me and kissed me. His hands traced down my neck and shoulders as he moved to my chest. I moaned as he lavished my right breast with nips and licks as he kneaded the left with his hand flicking my nipple every now and then. I arched into him my body reacting on its own as I groaned his name. He left my chest and trailed down my stomach with kisses and nips as he dipped his tongue into my belly button. I giggled it tickled so much as he grinned against my stomach.

I felt him play with the strings that kept my thong on me as I looked at him as he grinned at me.

'These are a minor inconvenience' he grinned as he pulled a kunai out of nowhere and sliced through the strings easily. I raised my eyebrow as I sat up and grabbed Kakashi in for a kiss as he toppled over onto me. I rolled so I was sitting on him once again as I played with his nipples again kissing my way down to where his boxers were now riding dangerously low. Turned out that all of his body hair was the same odd white-grey colour his hair was as I snatched the kunai from where it lay forgotten and cut the side of his boxers. I looked surprised as I captured him in another kiss.

'I… Liked those…boxers' he muttered between kissed as I moved to his neck again as I bit and sucked. He hissed and arched against me again as I found how hard he really was. 'But… I guess… I can… forgive… you' he panted as I gave him a catty grin. He raised an eyebrow before I was pinned under him and he was kissing his way down my body as he managed to find all of the pressure points that nearly had me screaming his name in pleasure at that moment.

Kakashi grinned as he looked at me and climbed back up to kiss me. I sighed as I heard rustling and noticed Kakashi was putting on a condom. Well at least Kakashi was a smart cookie as he kissed me again as I pulled both of my legs on his hips.

He pulled back and looked at me as I gave him a warm smile as his lips crashed down on mine as he entered me in one thrust. I moaned as he pulled back and thrust into me again. It wasn't long before we had a rhythm going as I felt tension building in my lower stomach. He left my mouth to lavish my neck with kisses, licks and nips as I moaned trying to focus on the overload of pleasure that was coursing through my body. Kakashi kissed me again as I felt my muscle start to clench. Kakashi pulled out and paused for a fraction of a second as I thought I was going to scream if he stopped now. But he surprised me as he moved my leg to his shoulder as he straightened himself slightly and turned a little to the right. The change of position was amazing as in one insanely powerful thrust he filled me completely, I moaned his name begging him to go harder as with another powerful thrust I came. I screamed his name as in another two thrusts he came as well crying my name as we both froze letting the waves of pleasure wash over us before Kakashi's muscles started to shake and his arms gave out as he came down to lay across my chest as we both panted.

(OK… were good to read again!)

'I love you more than you'll ever know' Kakashi panted as I rolled over and kissed him. He moved and pulled out of me as I groaned and he raised an eyebrow. I gave him a slutty look as he laughed and kissed me wrapping me in his arms and pulling me against his chest.

'I love you too Kashi-kun' I muttered as he gave an almost purr like moan as I snuggled into his chest. I swear I heard giggling coming from the window as I looked up to see no one and feel no chakra flares as I lay back down. Kakashi was already asleep and snoring lightly as he kept a firm grip around my waist. I sighed and lay back noticing it was almost 4 am as I drifted off to the sounds of the party dying out as everyone headed home.

'Yuki, Yuki get up you've got work to do' I heard Nori's voice as I swatted in the direction it came from. I hit something furry but it wasn't the right kind of furry as I cracked open an eye to see Kakashi's sleeping face beside mine as I noticed I had managed to catch Kakashi in the head with my arm. I heard Nori laugh as Kakashi groaned and snuggled closer to me. I smiled as Nori gave a growl.

'Get up you have work to do, plus you don't want to miss embarrassing the younger humans.' Nori said as she sauntered off the bed. I grinned and climbed out of bed managing to not wake Kakashi as I rummaged in his room for some boxers. I found a pair, redid up my corset and tossed on my dress and threw Kakashi's shirt over it as I left my stockings, garter, thong, and shoes in various places around his room as I stepped out into the hall. Nori gave me a disgusted look as I walked by.

'You smell like sex' she growled as I gave a deadpanned look. She rolled her eyes as I walked downstairs out the back door, across the yard where I noticed Genma and Kotetsu were sneaking away from behind some trees by the back gate.

'How was the sex boys?' I yelled as they both froze and turn around as I waved at them. I must've looked a mess but I didn't really care as they both blushed.

'AMAZING!' Genma shouted as they both transported away. I laughed to myself as I entered the main house. It was quiet so I assumed no one was home as I noticed a tanned leg sticking out over the end of the couch. I grinned and snuck into the kitchen as Nori met me holding an air horn. I grinned as I went over to the duo sleeping on the couch. It turned out to be Kiba and Ino as Nori and I put on ear muffs. I nodded and blasted the horn as the pair shot off the couch in all their naked glory as Kiba looked around. I burst out laughing before he threw on a pair of discarded boxers which had been hanging off a lamp as he passed Ino her undergarments from various places.

They were so embarrassed that I decided to leave them alone and harass whoever else I could find. I snuck up stairs to Sasuke's room as I noticed a shock of pink and another of black and a jumble of legs. I was surprised that the air horn blast from before hadn't woken them up as I felt a chakra flare from the window. I looked to my left as I noticed Kakashi was looking at me from upside down on the window. He waved as I shook my head and mimed for him to cover his ears. He gave me a nod as I blasted the air horn. I ducked as Sasuke shot out of bed unleashing a storm of kunai and shuriken as I burst out laughing at my brother's naked body standing beside the bed. Sakura looked at me her face bright red as she attempted to cover herself as best she could. Kakashi chose that moment to swing through the window as Sasuke went even more red and wrapped a blanket around himself.

'Well you are definitely a ninja Sasuke-kun- I rolled around laughing as Kiba appeared in the hallway now dressed as Ino grinned. I laughed as Kakashi helped me to my feet. I shook my head as I crossed the hall and stuck my head into the guest room. I saw a shock of blonde but no sign of Hinata as I sighed it wasn't going to be as funny.

I snuck up beside the bed as everyone filed into the room including a boxer clad Sasuke and Sakura in a bed sheet toga. Everyone waited as I snuck right up beside Naruto.

'Naruto-kun' I whispered as Naruto sighed and shifted.

'mmmmm Hinata-chan do that again' he muttered as Sakura looked she might puke as I hit the air horn. Naruto hit the roof quite literally as I noticed a tangle of purple sit bolt upright blinking rapidly.

'Morning Hinata-chan!' I giggled as she turned bright red and fainted as Naruto came down from the ceiling to make sure she was okay. I laughed as I headed to my bedroom to make sure no one had defiled my room. Everyone was busy laughing at Naruto and concerned about Hinata as I opened my bedroom door.

The first thing I saw was black and red clouds as I was grabbed inot the room and my dor closed.

'Yuki-san!' Deidara giggled as I noticed I was being hugged by the missing nin as Itachi, Kisame, Sasori, and Tobi were all standing in my room. Kisame was the next to hug me as I grinned.

'What are you guys doing here?' I asked as Itachi moved forward to hand me a little package.

'We missed your birthday and Christmas' he said as I felt touched and wrapped my teacher in a hug. Everyone was surprised as Itachi actually hugged me.

'You guys know if you're caught here you'll be killed' I said as Deidara shrugged.

'They can't catch us. They've tried before.' He said as Tobi ran over and hugged me.

'Tobi made Yuki-san's present!' he said as I blinked and accepted the red gift wrapped extremely well. I grinned.

'Thank you Tobi-kun' I smiled as the orange masked man seemed to grin almost. I gave Sasori a hug as he showed me the little puppet he had made while I was at the mansion. It was a little butterfly about the size of my hand that could fly and had hundreds of little compartments for poisoned weapons and Deidara's little bombs.

Deidara gave me some of his explosive clay and told me that if I wanted more just to find him or any of the Akatsuki. Kisame gave me a set of throwing knives that were thin enough to slip in between ribs but strong enough to cut through bone if need be and small enough that I could hide them almost anywhere on my body. Lastly Itachi's present was by far the most thoughtful, he returned everything that had been left at the house and an Akatsuki cloak but it was dark purple with blue clouds. I gave them all another hug as I heard footsteps coming down the hall.

'We'll see you around!' Deidara muttered as they all disappeared in various puffs of smoke. Immediately the door was thrown open as Kakashi stood looking furious as I stood in my new Akatsuki inverted cloak.

'Hey Kashi-kun!' I said as he gave me an annoyed look. I smiled and set all of the presents on my bed.

'Was the Akatsuki just in here?' he asked as I walked over and leant into him. His head jerked down to me as he took a step away.

'You smell like explosives' he stated as I sighed and showed him the box of explosive clay Deidara had given me. Kakashi was wary of it as I rolled my eyes.

'It's fine look Sasori-san gave me a puppet' I said as I showed him the puppet and the knives and all of my stuff that was returned to me. Kakashi did not seem impressed at the fact that I had deliberately allowed myself to be in a room filled with S-class criminals. I sighed and left him to check out everything that had been given to me by the Akatsuki as I headed down the hall for a shower.

I found Temari and Shikamaru sleeping in the bathtub as I got my air horn again. It looked like they had just fallen asleep as I tossed them out wanting a shower. I locked the door and stripped noticing how bad I did smell as I washed under the nice hot water. It was amazing as I stole some of Sasuke's shampoo as I heard Nori jump in through the window.

'Well you have the man, you have the job, what next?' Nori asked as I sighed. I honestly didn't know my life was nearly perfect I realized. It had come full circle as I rinsed the soap from my hair.

'Well I have to get better so I can return to my normal work on missions' I said as Nori gave a snort.

'Why you hate missions?' she said as I sighed.

'I know but I hate staying in one place for too long. I get… antsy and need to travel again. I doubt I'll be able to travel as much but I have my Rin visa so I can always just take off for a little while. You know a trip to Wave might be nice' I sighed as Nori sighed.

'You'd have to go on your own though. Kakashi probably has a pretty hefty fund on his head in most of the shinobi nations. Except for wave because they seem rather relaxed.' Nori said as I washed the conditioner out of my hair and grabbed a loofa.

'I know but hey, at least I can still travel.' I said as Nori left the room as the bathroom door flew open. I blinked and peeked out around the shower curtain with suds in my hair as Sasuke stood looking pissed.

'You slept with Kakashi!' he roared as I blinked.

'You slept with Sakura-chan' I stated as this just seemed to make him more angry.

'But he's my teacher!' he exclaimed as I shrugged.

'And I find him incredibly sexy and he's not my teacher so I don't have a problem.' I said as Sasuke took on an interesting shade of purple.

'I don't want that lunatic in our family he's a pervert!' Sasuke snapped as I wiped some soap out of my eye.

'So, You live with Naruto' I said as Sasuke didn't seem to like that I could argue every point. I stuck my head and started rinsing off the soap. 'besides Sasuke-kun I'm the oldest therefore what I say goes plus Hatake is one of the family names that I was supposed to pick from to get married anyway' I said as I heard spluttering.

'WHAT?!' Sasuke snapped as I stuck my head back out from the curtain.

'Yea look it up its in that scroll that Tsunade-sama gave me when Kashi-kun and I were filling in documents so we could get this house' I said as I heard feet stomp across the room and the door slam before I went back to showering. I was halfway through showering when the door opened again.

'What now?!' I snapped as I heard a familiar chuckle as I looked out to see a maskless, shirtless Kakashi standing in the middle of the bathroom.

'Room for one more?' He asked as I threw my loofa at him.

'No! I actually want to shower get out!' I laughed as he ducked and dodged flying bottles of soap as he stripped and joined me in the shower. After another 20 minutes and the water running cold I climbed out with Kakashi laughing at me as I rolled my eyes at the completely soggy man.

'You're insufferable I have work to get done otherwise Iruka will have my ass' I said wrapping myself in a towel as Kakashi looked rather annoyed.

'I'm insatiable not insufferable and I have your ass, don't give it the Iruka' he teased as he pinched my butt. I kissed his cheek before gathering my clothes and sauntering out of the bathroom. Naruto nearly passed out again as he sprouted a bad nosebleed as I passed him on the way to my room. I heard a yelp as Sakura went into the bathroom and noticed either Kakashi still half naked or the fact that there were bottles of soap all over the bathroom.

I hummed to myself as I got changed and headed downstairs to do some marking. I grabbed my bag leaving the box of valentines on my shelf as I headed downstairs to finish my marking.

I spent the next four hours marking as Kakashi came and spent an hour trying to get my to leave and 'go on a mission with him' which I declined. Sakura and Sasuke disappeared for the day as Naruto and Hinata were going out sparring for a few hours. Kakashi was kissing my neck as I attempted to mark some trajectory homework as the doorbell rang. I look at Kakashi as he gave me a look that told me he definitely wasn't getting up to answer it and went back to nibbling on my earlobe as I got up and answered the door. I opened the door to see an out of breath Kagome, Nobu and an irritated looking Katsu.

'Yuki-sensei! It's Momo-chan and Kiko-chan! Katsu-kun dared them to show they could walk on the water and they fell in and were swept downstream!' Kagome sobbed as I looked at Kakashi as he came to stand beside me. 'Oh Hatake-sama!' Nobu bowed as Katsu didn't move and Kagome also bowed. Kakashi looked rather amused as I tired to coax more information out of them.

'Which stream?' I asked as Nobu grabbed my wrist and dragged me up to the main bridge that crossed over the swiftly flowing river near the main gates. He pointed to where they had been playing or 'daring' one another as Kakashi and I took off running along the top of the water. I spread out my chakra in a net to make sure that if they were under water I could find them.

'Yuki-chan, this river hits rapid and a waterfall further up' Kakashi stated as I nodded. This was dangerous. Katsu was getting a first class ticket to Tsunade's office when I got back to that bridge.

'HELP!!!!! HELP ME!!! MOMO-CHAN!' I heard Kiko's screams as I noticed the rapids were starting. Kakashi and I managed to get off of the water and into a tree as I saw the white haired Kiko clinging onto a dead tree branch that had been snagged between a set of boulders about halfway down the rapids. I looked for the peach haired girl and I didn't see her.

'You get Kiko-chan, I'll look for Momo-chan' I said as Kakashi nodded. I spread out my chakra net as I headed toward the waterfall as I saw a blob of peach.

'HELP!' came the strangled scream as she went under. I cursed and dove in as I heard Kakashi call my name. The water was fast and dark as I made two seals and created an eddy of slower moving water around me as I looked for Momo. All I could see were the looming shapes of rocks, trees and darker pools of water as I spread out a chakra net. I sensed chakra flares from my right as I turned and used the sharingan. I saw Momo floating with her hair snagged on an underwater branch.

I didn't have much time as I swam against the current and grabbed Momo. Her hair was snagged as I reached into my pocket for a shuriken as I had to cut her hair loose. I didn't notice how much water my jutsu had blocked as the current doubled and I was swept backward. I climbed for the surface as I was knocked against a large rock. Momo was jarred out of my grasp as I reached out and caught her small arm as I swam for the surface.

My head broke the top as I sucked in a lung full of air as my back struck a large boulder.

'Kakashi!' I called as I looked for the tall man. That's when I heard the roar of the falls. Just how far had I been swept downstream. 'Kakashi!' I called again as I grabbed for anything that would save Momo and I from going over the falls.

'Yuki!' I heard Kakashi call as I managed to grab a hold of a rock and clung to it. The water pressure was incredible as I felt my hand sliding slightly. Kakashi was standing on a branch that hung over the raging water as he looked around for something in his pockets.

'Onee-chan!' I heard Sasuke as he and Sakura came up behind Kakashi. Sasuke had rope as I was suddenly thankful for the insanely fast ninja community. 'Grab it!' he yelled as he tossed the weighted rope to me. Kiko was looking terrified as she clung to Sakura as I grabbed the rope and wrapped it around my arm twice.

Kakashi and Sasuke pulled as I let go of the rock. Once I was out from behind the eddy the current was horrible. The rope bit into my arm as Kakashi and Sasuke grunted under the extra weight caused by the current. Slowly I swam parallel to the shore as I edge over until Sakura could reach out and grab my wrists as I tossed Momo to her and grabbed a hold of a rock. I coughed up some water as Kakashi ran into the water and wrapped his arms around my shoulders and waist as Sakura attended to Momo.

'Momo-chan!' Kiko gasped as Sakura started CPR within two breaths Momo was coughing up water and breathing on her own. I sighed and allowed Kakashi to take the brunt of my weight as he staggered and we both fell into the water. I laughed as Kakashi blinked and stood up and slung me over him piggyback style. I sighed as I realized how tired I was and how sore I was now from the physical activity.

'Is she alright Sakura-chan?' I asked as Kiko was hugging the other sodden little girl as I saw Nobu, Kagome and Katsu land not too far from where we were standing. I looked at the red head.

'You are in BIG TROUBLE you hear me!' I snapped as Kakashi walked over and grabbed Katsu by the scruff of his shirt.

'I'll get the Hokage' Sasuke said as he disappeared in a flurry of leaves. I sighed and went limp just lying on Kakashi as I dozed. I would need the extra strength as I heard three loud pops. I looked up to see Sasuke, Tsunade and Shikamaru all looking equally pissed as I saw the kids gulp.

'How are the kids?' Tsunade asked.

'They're fine thanks to Kakashi-sensei and Yuki-chan but they still have to go to the hospital to check for secondary drowning.' Sakura said as Tsunade nodded as Sakura collected the children and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Tsunade then turned to the trio left in the clearing.

'Who's idea was this?' she demanded hands on her hips as all three of the kids froze at the sannin who was standing before them.

'I suggest you talk before she makes you' Kakashi suggested as the threat seemed to push them.

'Katsu-kun dared them to see if they could be brave like Yuki-sensei and walk on water. He showed them how to do it and when they tried they fell in and then we ran to get Yuki-sensei and I was so scared!' Kagome blurted out before breaking into tears.

Katsu glared at the chubby girl as Tsunade looked at the two boys. She fixed on Katsu and then Nobu.

'Is this true?' she asked as Katsu kept his mouth shut and glared at Nobu. It seemed that Katsu was a bully as I shifted on Kakashi's back.

'That Katsu is a bully. No one will stand against him' I whispered so low only Kakashi could hear.

'He had talent to be a great ninja so I'm not surprised he's manipulating the other students as a source of his own amusement' Kakashi whispered back as something came to me. The harder I looked at Katsu the more I saw the beginnings of another Maro or Orochimaru. I had to talk to Tsunade about this soon as she was currently chewing out the three children on nearly getting their friends killed. Shikamaru looked utterly pissed and judging by his more than usually messy hair and askew uniform he must've been with Temari before Sasuke found him.

'I need to talk with you Tsunade-sama after' I said loudly enough for her to hear as she continued to scream at the kids.

'You are all in incredible amounts of trouble. I want you to report to Iruka-sensei tomorrow to clean the entire school and do all of the yard work. Do I make myself clear?' she stated as there were a chorus of yes ma'am as Shikamaru and Sasuke were nominated to escort them home with letters to give to their parents about their behaviour.

Tsunade turned to me as I lay sprawled across Kakashi's back. She didn't seem impressed at the fact that I had done something so strenuous when I was still recovering.

'I should chew you out too but seeing as all you've done is chew up most of your chakra reserves and maybe put some more strain on your system I should condemn you to the hospital for a few days as punishment.' Tsunade threatened as I winced as Kakashi gave me a sympathetic squeeze on my legs. I think every ninja hated hospitals especially since we seemed to be in and out of them so often.

'Tsunade-sama I need to talk to you about Katsu. There are a few… disturbing things I've noticed about him that you should know.' I said as Tsunade gave a nod at my serious expression.

'Meet in my office' she said as she disappeared in a puff of smoke. I felt Kakashi's chakra spike as he used the same transportation jutsu. I hated using this jutsu because it felt you were being squeezed and stretched at the same time and always made my ears pop. We landed outside of the Hokage's big doors as the two ANBU guards took on a defensive stance before they noticed it was Kakashi.

'Cant you use the door like a normal person Kakashi-senpai?' the one with a cat mask asked as Kakashi laughed. He obviously knew these men as he gave the other a wave.

'Hey Kakashi-senpai, we're going out drinking tonight wanna come?' the other in the hawk mask asked. Kakashi gave it some thought as I swung my leg to kick him in the thigh. He grunted in pain as I pulled his hair.

'Move it scarecrow!' I said and looked at the hawk boy.

'he'll meet you guys at the usual place' I said ass they both looked at me rather confused.

'Alright senbon it is!' the cat guy laughed as Kakashi grumbled at me as we entered the hokage's office.

'You know you wanted to go besides I'm going to be stuck sleeping the rest of the weekend in between marking. Cant walk again remember' I pointed out as Kakashi didn't say anything but I could feel the sag in his shoulders. He felt bad that he hadn't been the one to go after Momo and had set my progress back about half a week. Tsunade had her usual sake out as the doors closed behind us. I noticed a chair had been produced as Kakashi sat me in it like a rag doll. I noticed how badly sore I was and how much I shook if I tried to command any of my nervous system.

'So Yuki-san what did you wish to discuss with me?' Tsunade asked as I sighed.

'Tsunade-sama you are one of the legendary Sannin correct?' I asked as she nodded. 'I have noticed some rather… disturbing similarities between Katsu and Orochimaru in the few instances I was around the man and while I was under torture in Maro's hands.' I shuddered as I fought down a rush of panic over the memories of the pain as Kakashi put his hand behind my back making me arch my back so it was harder to hyperventilate or hold my breath. Tsunade looked grave as she studied me.

'What have you noticed?' she asked completely serious as I kept a level gaze with her.

'Katsu enjoys manipulating the other students. He has a blatant disregard for authority and constantly tried to kill me in various training exercises. What I'm afraid of is that he is incredibly talented for someone of his age and has managed to hit me with shuriken and kunai at the academy and has a very well established understanding of all the history, tactics and rules of the ninja. He's like… combining the determination of Naruto, the ingeniousness of Shikamaru and the mean streak of Orochimaru and Maro. Sadly I think that if he's not watched we could potentially have another psycho growing up.' I said as Tsunade looked at Kakashi. The two of them seemed to communicate just by looking with one another as I sighed and sat back as Kakashi moved to stand. I was incredibly tired and wanted to sleep as I lay in a fog in the arm chair.

'I'm glad you brought this to my attention. We will have to put some seals on the boy if that is the case of what you say. I will have some ANBU track him for a few months and see what happens.' Tsunade said as I was clearly dismissed. I tried to stand as my arms wobbled dangerously an my legs shook as I managed to stand before a wave of vertigo washed over me. I swayed as I felt Kakashi's strong arms catch me and swing me up bridal style into his arms as I let m head rest against his strong chest.

'Let her get some rest. She had her entire nervous system fried not even two weeks ago and get her some Tylenol when you get back home. Don't let her do any work for at least 24 hours.' Tsunade commanded as I felt Kakashi nod. I sighed as I felt the same transportation jutsu before we landed somewhere that was much quieter. Kakashi walked over and set me on the chair. I looked up as he gave me a warm smile and kissed my forehead.

'Where are we?' I asked as he rummaged around the room. I shivered it was incredibly cold in these wet clothes as he turned around with a pair of boxers and a white tank top.

'Over at my house because Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke and a tribe are waiting for you back at your house.' He said as I nodded and stripped putting on his nice warm clothes. I wondered if he owned a pair of Pj's pants but the bed was so soft the thought was soon forgotten as he set the blankets over me.

'If they yell at you I'll punch 'em' I muttered as Kakashi gave a small laugh.

'They always insult me. I think you're really the only one who enjoys my company' he said quietly as I heard how sad he sounded. I was fading fast as I groped for Kakashi as he shifted his weight. I found his gloved hand as I grabbed it.

'stay' I muttered as I heard him laugh and the bed beside me shifted as I felt him lie beside me. He threw an arm over my hip as I snuggled into him. He was so nice and warm as I felt his lips brush my ear.

'I'm right here' he whispered as I sighed and drifted off encompassed in warmth.

Then came the nightmares.

I was back in that little cell. Maro was laughing as he circled me. I tired to fight but the more I did the more pain there was it was like a never ending ocean. I saw butterflies flying around me before the burst into flame and fell like falling stars as I heard Maro laugh. The screaming I couldn't stop screaming. Oh my god it hurt so bad.

'Yuki, wake up!' I heard Kakashi shouted as I looked at Maro he was grinning sadistically as his mouth opened. 'It's just a dream wake up!' I shook my head no dream could be this painful as I pleaded with him to leave me alone.

'YUKI!' My eyes flew open as I saw Kakashi looming over me looking utterly terrified with a bruise forming on his cheek. I blinked trying to calm down as I started to shake then I broke down sobbing. It was just a dream. I was safe, in Konoha, with Kakashi. Oh god it had seemed so real! Kakashi I knew didn't know what to do as I managed tog et myself under control. He pulled me against him as I buried my face in his long black sweater and calmed myself.

'It was just a dream Yuki, you're alright.' He muttered as I managed to calm down. I was still shaking slightly as Kakashi pulled a blanket over me. I looked up at him to see the bruise now taking over a good portion of his eye.

'Did I hit you?' I asked as he smiled.

'Pretty good whack too, didn't know you had such a vicious left hook' he teased as I smiled pushing the dream from my mind. I drew in a shaky breath as Kakashi rubbed my back. 'what was the dream about? You were talking in your sleep' Kakashi said quietly as I stared at my lap.

'What did I say?' I asked as he pulled me tighter against him.

'You were begging them to stop and you were screaming and kept telling them you weren't going to tell' he said as I nodded. I knew he knew what the dream had been about as he kissed my forehead. I felt so small sitting in his lap as he rested his chin on the top of my head and continued to rub my back.

'Kakashi-sensei?' Naruto's voice was at the door as Kakashi let me go and got off of the bed, putting up his mask and opened the door.

'yes Naruto?' he asked as there was some shuffling.

'Sakura-chan told me to give these to Yuki-chan for nightmares.' He said as he peeked around his sensei. His eyes widened as he saw me. I must've looked a mess as I gave a weak smile and a wave. Naruto looked angry.

'What did you do to her you bastard!' he snapped as I was taken aback at the boy's ferocity to his teacher. Kakashi's shoulder's slumped as I was instantly angry.

'Naruto don't talk to Kakashi that way!' I snapped as they both turned to look at me. Kakashi was surprised and Naruto shocked that I would raise my voice. 'Have some respect for your Sensei!' I continued as Naruto looked like a kicked puppy.

'I'm sorry yuki-chan!' he wailed as I sighed and waved him over. He skirted Kakashi and came to stand beside me by the bed. I grabbed his hand.

'Now Naruto-kun don't go around yelling at Kakashi-sensei, he's the one looking after me and is doing a wonderful job. I just had a nightmare is all and he's been more than helpful so don't jump to conclusions.' I said as Naruto nodded and looked a little sad. I gave him a hug as he brightened and left going to talk with Sakura.

I sighed and flopped back against the pillows as Kakashi came to stand beside me. It was then that I noticed how tired he looked. He had dark circles under his eyes and not from where I had just punched him. Even the sharingan looked tired as he sat on the bed. I knew I looked haggard but at leas I didn't look like I was dragged through a keyhole backwards.

'when was the last time you slept properly?' I asked as he shrugged and handed me the drugs. I took them with some water as I grabbed him arm and made him sit down. 'Kakashi' I demanded as he shot me a tired look.

'I haven't slept properly in months' I said as I smacked him up the side of the head.

'Are you trying to kill yourself?' I demanded as he sighed. Man he was difficult to deal with but I loved him as I patted the bed beside me. 'Sleep. I need and you need it and I know I sleep better with you here' I said as Kakashi gave me one of his warm smiles as I felt the drugs taking effect as I dozed off again with Kakashi beside me.

I didn't know but I slept for a sold 48 hours and woke up feeling better than I had in ages. I tried to get out of bed before I noticed that all of Kakashi's dogs were sleeping in the bed with me. I blinked as I noticed I REALLY had to pee. I jumped out of bed turfing Inu off my head, kicking Yasu and stepping on Kiiro in my mad dash for the bathroom. Oddly enough I didn't see Kakashi as I peed, showered and was walking back to his bedroom as I noticed all of the dogs had disappeared. I looked for fresh clothes as all I managed to find that would fit was one of Kakashi's uniform shirts, some boxers that were more like shorts on me and a tank mask that was hung over the back of a chair. The room smelt like Kakashi and dog as I gathered up my dirty laundry and dumped it in his laundry hamper. I looked for the dogs as I found Chairo looking at me from the top of the stairs.

'Iruka dropped by and said that if you want to come back to work you can but you don't have to and he picked up the marking' he reported as I nodded.

'Thanks Chairo. Hey, what day and time is it?' I asked as his tongue lolled out of his mouth.

'8 in the morning on Tuesday!' he announced as I nodded.

'Where is Kakashi?' I asked as I heard a deep purr from behind me as Nori head butted me. I turned and gave the big cat a hug. She seemed glad to see me okay and was even getting along with the dogs.

'He was sent out on a mission yesterday. He should be back by tomorrow morning' she announced as I nodded. I climbed onto Nori's back as she ambled her way downstairs. The ninja dogs seemed to be warming up to me as I told them I was well enough to go to work. Actually it felt like I had crack running through my veins. Nori said that it was the fact that my chakra levels were back to normal with all of the extra sleep, medicine and exercise I had been getting lately. She was amazed at how good I looked and felt as I made my own breakfast in Kakashi's kitchen. I fed the dogs and Nori as she demanded to come to the academy with me. I agreed as I gave her a huge leg of lamb from the fridge as she ate it happily.

I went over to my room and dressed and even had enough time to play with my hair as I saw a little box sitting on my bed. I didn't know what it was as I opened it. Inside was the little Tanto I had picked up at the weapons shop. I gasped as I saw a little card beside it.

_Thank you for everything Yuki-chan, we love you!_

_From- The genin 9 boys_

I blinked so that's what the tribe called themselves the genin 9. I laughed and put the little blade into my vest as I tied on my hip pack and leg pack and headed for class.

I rode Nori as she took massive leaps and bounds over buildings and between tree branches as I thoroughly enjoyed the wind rushing through my hair. Nori landed in front of the academy as with a pop and some snow turned into her kitten form. I picked her up and let her lie across my shoulders as I went inside. School hadn't started yet as I poked my head into the teachers lounge. It was empty except for some coffee cups and stacks of paper as I headed to Iruka's room. I opened to the door to see Iruka and Shikamaru talking as they looked up at me.

'Hey Yuki-sensei' Shikamaru waved as I smiled and came in.

'feeling better?' Iruka asked as I nodded.

'Saving students is hard work' I laughed as they both nodded. Shikamaru looked at the cub around my neck as Nori gave him a wink.

'Well you have two sizes like Akamaru.' Shikamaru stated as Nori flicked her tail.

'Don't compare me to that mutt. He cant even speak human languages yet.' She insisted as Shikamaru apologized and Iruka laughed. I asked what I had missed and Iruka filled me in. He was surprised that I had returned to work so readily especially since I was recovering still. The students filed in and were surprised to see me back so soon. I smiled and went to open my bag only to find my work was gone and had been replaced with Icha Icha novels. My eye twitched as I sighed and an evil thought popped into my head. Oh Kakashi was going to pay when he got back from his mission.

'So today's lesson is going to focus on the history of…' I tuned Iruka out as I went to my usual desk in the back and stared shifting through the mounds of paperwork. I felt eyes on me as I looked up to see Katsu glaring at me. I knew that kid hated me as Nobu looked incredible bored beside him and Kagome still fawned over him asking if he wanted to sit with her for lunch. I looked around the room and noticed Kouga was trying to keep his puppy silent and Kiko and Momo were both taking notes. They didn't seem any worse for wear except for a few bruises.

'Yuki-sensei, can you please bring down Nori to show an animal summoning?' Iruka asked as I looked up over the stack of papers.

'Sure' I said as Nori shrugged and popped outside. I came down as the students looked for the cat I had before.

'Now animal summons are quite common for almost all ninja. Kouga has a familiar and a summon in his puppy like his family who all have canine summons. Kakashi Hatake had his ninja dogs that he can call on to help him. The hokage can summon slugs as can Sakura-chan, Jiraiya-sama can summon toads as can Naruto-kun, and Sasuke can summon snakes. Yuki-sensei is from Ice country and she can explain to you about familiars.' Iruka said as I smiled.

'Nori is a snow leopard and the way ice ninja get a familiar is that we are chosen by the cats. We don't pick our familiar they pick us and Nori's family is a very respected snow leopard clan. Now summoning an animal is based upon your connection with them. Nori and I are so connected that we can read each others chakras and even feel each others emotions to an extent. Now when summoning you need a scroll.' I produced the scroll and showed the kids. 'Most scrolls need blood to be activated because the animals can pick up on your blood more readily than chakra. Now each one of my summoning scrolls are especially designed to summon Nori. I cannot summon Akamaru, Pakkun, any of the ninja dogs, or Kouga's puppy.' I said as I looked around the room.

'Would you care to show them?' Iruka asked as I nodded and pulled a kunai out of my pocket. I nicked my thumb and smeared a large X over the scroll and pumped chakra into it as there was a loud crack and horse sized Nori stood on the scroll blinking at the class. There were a bunch of ooh kitty! From the girls as the boys said cool or awesome!

Nori padded over to stand beside me as she purred.

'Be nice when summoning familiars. It feels weird to be called from one location to another instantly when we have no warning.' Nori said as the room froze when the big cat spoke.

'That cat can talk!' Nobu jumped and shouted pointing to Nori as the cat gave him an irritated look.

'Great another Naruto' she muttered plopping down beside me as I laughed. There were tons of questions about Nori. Most people had never seen a cat bigger than their house cats and Nori was definitely a rarity around here. Iruka wrapped up the questions and since it had started raining outside we moved to the gym for basic taijutsu no weapons today.

It was interesting because for once Iruka and I didn't have to do anything. Temari was actually the teacher who ran Taijutsu in the gym as she put the kids through their paces. I retreated back to Iruka's room to mark as he followed suit.

'Hey Yuki-san, do you want to go for dinner with me tonight?' Iruka asked as I looked at him with a raised eyebrow as he back pedaled. 'not like that! I just meant that since Kakashi is out of town you might want some company for supper' he said as I laughed and gave the man a pat on the shoulder.

'I'd love some company where do you want to go?' I asked as he immediately responded for us to go to Ichiraku Ramen. I agreed and went back to marking as he sat at his desk near the front of the room setting up a lesson plan.

(Another warning: This is where we talk about Yaoi aka gay relations so if you feel like skipping then blah!)

'Hey Iruka-kun are you seeing anyone currently?' I asked as Iruka looked up at me and blinked.

'No I'm not.' He said as I frowned.

'Then who were you with on valentine's day?' I asked as he blushed a little. I raised an eyebrow waiting for his response.

'I was with Izumo' he admitted as I giggled. There was a pair. I didn't expect those two together. But it didn't surprise me that Iruka was gay. Or maybe he swung both ways because of what Kurenai..? or was it Ino.. ?whoever had told me he was on a date with a girl not too long ago.

'Iruka I have a few questions' I asked as the chounin looked up at me.

'Sure shoot.' He said as Nori gave me a warning look.

'Are you Bi?' I asked as Iruka blushed and looked at his desk.

'No, I'm definitely gay' he laughed as I nodded.

'Alright, I was just curious because Ino-chan or Kurenai-chan told me they saw you on a date with a girl' I said as Iruka laughed nervously.

'Yea that was a date Genma-san set me up on. He still doesn't seem to understand people who aren't bi or straight don't like the opposite sex' he laughed as I nodded. Another question popped into my head since I had Iruka's attention.

'Hey Iruka is Kakashi-kun bi?' I asked as I thought Iruka was going to die as he looked at me.

'Uh why would you want to know that?' he asked as I shrugged.

'Heard some rumours' I said as Iruka blinked.

'I think that's information you should ask him. Oh look have to go get the kids!' he said rushing out of the room as I noticed there was at least a half hour before they were due to come back. Something fishy was going and I would figure it out!

I went back to marking. So Iruka was gay and judging by the way he had reacted when I had asked him about Kakashi I had a feeling that the two of them had something at one point. Obviously it hadn't lasted but they were closer than I had seen anyone else in this village except for couples or Naruto and Sasuke who had some stupid insane rivalry going on. I sighed and put my head on my desk. I had way too much energy. Maybe I would go train with Akane in the rain this evening. It would be nice seeing as I was always too bloody hot in this climate. I undid my vest and shrugged it off onto my chair as I continued marking.

(OK: warning over. But I am going to bring this topic up again in the rest of the story so if you're bothered by this please find another fanfic I am not writing and Yaoi lemons though or anything like that. It is just discussed between the chracters.)

I heard the door slide open nearly silently as someone entered the room. I didn't bother to look up as I hear a click. I looked up just in time to catch a kunai and shuriken before I heard feet and someone run back down the hall. I heard a shout as Nori walked back in holding Katsu firmly in her jaws as he kicked and screamed.

'What happened?' I heard Iruka shout as he came back into the room. I passed him the shuriken and Kunai as I walked over to the little boy. He glared at me as I crouched down to his level.

'Why are you trying to kill me?' I asked as he kept his mouth shut. I glared at him. I could play this game as I decided to scare him as I activated the sharingan as I felt the commas spin as he looked frightened as I watched his chakra flow.

'Katsu' Iruka warned as the kid glared at me.

'Your brother killed my father!' he spat at me as I resisted the urge to grab the kid and beat the crap out of him for his disrespect but I could see why he would attack me and not Sasuke. I was readily available and weak so I was the perfect target for revenge.

'So you're trying to kill me for something my brother did?' I asked as he glared at me.

'You're an Uchiha your kind shouldn't be trusted. You're all psychos!' he snapped as I recoiled from the malice in the kids words. Katsu glared at me as I stared at him. What had ever put that idea in his mind, I knew Itachi and Sasuke had deserted the village and Itachi had committed the ultimate crime that made him a psycho. But I wasn't like that was I? I backed away from Katsu as Iruka looked at me.

'You're all murderers! That's why your kind should be eradicated! If it wasn't for your family my dad would still be alive!' he snapped glaring at me. 'You're all cold blooded murderers!' he hissed as flashes of various people I had killed on missions flashed through my minds eye. People who I had seen die, watch die slowly, as I watched or actually caused the suffering. Katsu looked at me with such utter hatred and malice I was waiting for him to actually kill me just with a look.

Nori growled and dropped the kid as something struck me from behind near my neck. I froze as I felt warm blood trickle down the back of my head. What had just happened? I didn't dare move as I stared at Katsu. His eyes were angry as he ran at me with a kunai. Iruka stepped in and easily disarmed the boy as I turned my head slightly. Iruka gasped as I assumed whatever had hit me was still stuck.

'Yuki, don't move.' Iruka said as Nori pounced on Katsu as ANBU popped into exsistence and grabbed Katsu. I didn't dare move as Iruka moved closer and pulled out something that felt like a senbon needle. The little weapon fell to the floor with a clatter as I applied pressure to where it had been removed from. It had hit a pressure point that funny enough had made me incredibly relaxed. It made the entire situation hilarious because I just had an academy student try to kill me and ended up acupuncturing me into a state of calm.

'Are you alright?' one of the ANBU asked as I nodded.

'He hit a relaxation pressure point. I feel better than I have in days' I told them as the ANBU squad look confused before disappearing with the crazy child. Iruka had a hand on my shoulder as hurried footsteps came down the hall as Sakura and Naruto threw the classroom door open and Sasuke jumped in through the window.

'Is everything alright?' Naruto demanded as I sighed and sat down. My neck was fine as I removed the hanky that Iruka had pressed to my neck. It was going to be stained red forever now as he put it back in his pocket obviously accustomed to seeing blood.

'I'm fine just had an issue with a student' I said as Sasuke gave me a dark look. He knew something was up by my body language as Sakura came over to attend to my neck as she poked and prodded at me with chakra before she healed the wound. Naruto was talking with his favorite student as Naruto even gave his old teacher a hug. It made me smile as Sakura's beeper went off and Naruto decided to accompany her more to her insistence because of how stormy Sasuke looked.

Iruka said he'd be back as he went to get the students. I predicted we had 15 minutes before the terrors arrived once again.

'What did that kid say that had you so shaken you couldn't stop a simple senbon?' Sasuke asked as I stayed silent. What Katsu had said would probably make Sasuke go find the kid and beat the shit out of him as I sighed.

'I'll tell you later if you start training with me. I've been slacking off since I got back and I'm probably getting rusty' I said as Sasuke nodded as I heard the patter of little feet on the floor boards. Sasuke looked mildly irritated as he went to stand behind my desk at the back. I sighed, my guess was that my kid brother was not leaving me until we had a little family 'chat' as I noticed Nori had also vanished. Where had that hulking beast gone? I swore for something so big she could disappear so fast.

The kids reentered class as a few of them gaped at Sasuke standing along the back wall. I guess he did look pretty frightening with his sword on his back and his bigass neckband on his black shirt with the Uchiha fan, even his crazy sandals and purple pants. I never would understand why he wore purple pants or even a gaping yukata at times. It was just weird or maybe Sasuke was a little over confident in his skills and body and enjoyed the bragging rights. Whatever. Iruka came back in and was surprised to see Sasuke standing at the back of the room as the teen raised a hand in greeting.

'Class Sasuke-kun is going to sit in on this afternoons classes. You're dismissed for lunch.' Iruka said as I breathed a sigh and left the stuff little room. Sasuke kept pace with me as I opted for hanging outside of the school as I noticed that when Sasuke was around other people they always seemed to get nervous or would just give him disgusted looks. It was quite sad as I felt the need to protect my baby brother as I glared at the passers by.

'Don't bother Onee-chan' Sasuke muttered as a group of genin skirted us walking in the rain. It wasn't doing much more than misting currently but I kenw the harder rain would start soon.

'You hungry?' I asked as Sasuke shook his head. I wasn't very hungry either as we continued along the damp streets. We didn't really say anything, both of my brothers weren't people who always filled the air with constant babble. It was rather relaxing as we passed a sakura tree that was starting to bloom.

'Why do you like Kakashi-sensei so much?' Sasuke asked suddenly as I looked at the young man. His dark black-brown eyes fixed with mine as I smiled.

'Well, he's different around me than with most people. When I first met him he was aloof, goofy, sloth like, procrastinator who I was pretty sure was a giant pervert and was just putting up with me because I was hot and alone.' I stated as Sasuke shrugged.

'That sums him up pretty much' Sasuke muttered as I laughed. He looked at me his forehead creasing in confusion as I giggled.

'Like I said, I thought he was like. But after I spent some time with him I realized that Kakashi-kun is actually a really deep, smart, funny man. I mean, he is not only a brilliant ninja but he's amazingly perceptive of people moods and body language. He has funny little hang ups like being petrified of pineapple, the reason he's late all of the time is because he worries over everything much more than he should and he looses track of time. I found we have a great deal of things in common plus he's not as perverted as you think. Most of it's a defense mechanism to get people off his case. Plus I realized something about him that I doubted anyone other than Sakura noticed' I said as Sasuke looked at me incredulously. He could not believe what I was telling him about his teacher.

'What the fact that he has his head in the clouds all the time?' Sasuke muttered as I punched him hard. He gave me a dark look as I glared.

'No you tool. He's incredibly lonely like I was. Even though I have you, Sakura, Naruto, Hinata, and the Akatsuki. Yes they are my friends don't start with me!' I argued as Sasuke shook his head at me.

'only you could be friends with the most infamous group of s-class criminals our brother belongs to' Sasuke muttered his eyes going steely at the mention of Itachi as I sighed.

'Anyway, I was alone for so long after Yuuto died I thought I'd never recover. It really is a blow to have someone incredibly important pulled away from you and Kakashi understood and for some odd reason even took a chance on me.' I smiled as Sasuke nodded.

'You have it bad for him' he laughed as I laughed along with my brother. A few people stared as we passed laughing. It must've been an odd sight to see the Uchiha siblings laughing like normal people.

'yes, I do but we're ninja. I know he could die anytime and he knows I could die anytime. As horrible as it is ninja really can only be with other ninja because of that understanding. Besides once I reach 30 I'm quitting' I said as Sasuke I knew wanted to ask why as I continued on. 'well I have everything I could ever want now and the average lifespan of a ninja is 30 years so if I make it to average I'm retiring and having kids' I said as Sasuke gave me a rather shocked look.

'You want kids?' he asked as I nodded and zoned out. I smacked him.

'Stop picturing my and Kakashi-kun's kids!' I snapped as Sasuke shook his head and laughed.

'Funny looking kids you'd have' Sasuke laughed as I tried to deck him one as he ducked and caught me before giving me a noogie. I knew people were staring as the normally stoic Sasuke noogied someone in the street.

'Ow Ni-chan we're drawing a crowd. OW!' I snapped pinching a pressure point as his arm went limp and he let go. I looked at my pocket watch and realized lunch was almost over as we walked back to the academy as it started to actually rain.

'Run!' I laughed as we bolted for the door. I easily kept up to Sasuke as the feeling of liquid crack was back in my system as I was nearly bouncing off the walls when we got back inside. I had no idea why I was feeling so good as the afternoon passed swiftly. Kiko and Momo had approached me the thank me for saving them and to give me a present as well as Kakashi but I told them he was out on a mission as they looked terribly upset at not seeing the tall jounin. But it seemed that I fixed it when I introduced them to the infamous Sasuke Uchiha. I shook my head and remembered my promise to Kiko as I told them to drop by after supper to see Sakura when I knew she was off work for a few hours.

I packed up my work and transported home much to the protest of my ears to grab Akane from Kakashi's room as I noticed someone had made the bed and cleaned up as I grabbed the sword and my new Tanto as I thanked Sasuke for the gift when I met him on the training grounds.

'You deserve it' he said simply as he drew his crazy sword.

'No crazy electricity attacks' I said as he rolled his eyes and attacked. I ducked the first attack using Akane as balance as I caught Sasuke in the chest with one of my feet as I drew Akane and slashed down. Sasuke blocked and turned as I used my momentum to turn sharply and stab as Sasuke jumped back as I advanced keeping Akane close as I suddenly swept my feet out. He jumped as I used the opening to cut upward at the last second. I cut a small patch of fabric off his pants and leave a good cut before Sasuke moved and I have to do a back hand spring to move as Sasuke launched an attack from above. I blocked with Akane as he pushed down. He was stronger than me as I pulled out my Tanto and managed to cut his hand as he jerked back. The moment was all I needed as I attacked with a blade in each hand. The katana was a distraction as I made large sweeps for Sasuke to block as I moved closer to try to cut him with the smaller blade.

Sasuke managed to land a punch as I sheathed the Tanto and the sword battle deteriorated into a taijutsu lesson as we tried to pummel each other in the rain. I managed to Kick Sasuke in the head as he went down into a puddle of mud while He had knocked me into several trees at different times. I wiped blood off of my lip as Sasuke stood up panting as we faced off again as Sasuke ran at me and I grabbed his punch using the excess momentum to swing him around and trip him as he grabbed my uniform and ragged me down with him. I twisted my grip as he was forced to let go as he went back into the same mud puddle.

I looked at Sasuke as he lay panting in the mud before he stood up again. We looked at each other and started laughing. We looked rediclous, soaking wet, covered in mud, leaves, and bracken with cuts, bruises and dirt everywhere.

I picked up Akane as Sasuke tugged his sword out a tree. I wiped off the water before sheathing he sword.

'Good practice' I said as Sasuke nodded and put away his own sword.

'Supper?' he asked as I paled. I forgot I was supposed to have dinner with Iruka at 6 at Ichiraku!

'What time is it?' I demanded as Sasuke looked at his watch.

'uh 6:04' he said as I waved and used my teleportation jutsu to appear outside of Ichiraku as I poked my head inside to see Iruka laughing at something the ramen guy said as they both turned to look at me.

'Yuki-san were you attacked?!' Iruka asked as I waved it off and sat down on one of the stools.

'No no, Sasuke-kun and I were sparring in the woods. I needed to run off some energy I've felt like I've had crack running through my veins all day' I said as Iruka laughed and ordered some ramen for the two of us.

'have you told Sasuke-kun about what Katsu said earlier today?' Iruka asked as I looked at him.

'Is Konoha still standing and Katsu still alive?' I asked Iruka nodded. 'Then no' I said taking a huge mouthful of the wonderful substance Iruka had ordered making sure no one was looking. Did I mention I was addicted to noodles? I saw Iruka turn as if he wanted to ask a question as my mask was back perfectly as I continued to chew. He seemed surprised that I had taken the food that fast. Sometimes it was good to have a speed jutsu or two handy.

'Are you going to tell him?' Iruka asked as I sighed and nodded.

'Probably tonight. The training was a good distraction though I hit him pretty hard a couple of times although he landed a good kick here.' I pointed to the front of my chest and stuck it out as Iruka nodded and a man a few chairs down spurted his ramen as he had a massive nosebleed and fell on the ground. I grinned as I went back to my ramen ignoring the man on the ground. Was this town full of perverts?

'I guess that's a good thing. Will you be able to keep him from destroying Konoha?' Iruka asked as I nodded and took another speedy gulp of the noodles.

'I just have to bring a peace offering' I said as Iruka looked at me quizzically. 'Sushi, specifically inside out rolls and shrimp' I said as Iruka nodded.

'I never knew Sasuke-kun liked sushi so much' Iruka said as I laughed.

'Good thing Itachi-sensei doesn't otherwise Kisame-kun would be done for' I burst out laughing at the thought of Itachi chasing Kisame with chopsticks or a fork as Iruka looked at me like I was crazy.

'What are you talking about?' Iruka asked as I sighed.

'never mind, I guess its an inside joke only I'm a part of' I smiled sadly and took another gulp of noodles. Iruka looked at me sadly as he put a hand on my shoulder.

'You and Kakashi really are made for one another. You both go from cracked to depressed in two seconds. You're both completely insane' Iruka joked as I laughed.

'I guess you're right' I said laughing as Iruka paid the bill. I felt bad and promised to take him out next time we went for lunch of dinner. We split ways as Iruka told me to shower and say hi to the others for him as I saw Izumo walking down from his usual post at the gates. I waved at him as he gave a smile before I headed home passing the ramen shop as I heard the chef grumbling about dirty ninja and getting everything muddy as I laughed and bounded down the street having that ecstatic feeling bouncing around in me. I stopped into the sushi shop and picked up Sasuke's favorite as I headed home. Peace offerings were always a good idea when dealing with Uchiha's.

I jumped the Uchiha gate as I got a few stares from passers by as I stepped into the main house.

'I'm home!' I called but silence greeted me before there was a girlish squeak and a flustered looking Sakura stuck her head around the corner of the stairs.

'Hey Yuki-chan how was dinner?' she asked as I heard a low murmur then a thump as Sakura glared behind her. I assumed she had kicked Sasuke as my brother came around the corner in a pair of boxers and came down the stairs at a trot before going into the kitchen snatching the box from me on his way by as I glared at his retreating back. I rolled my eyes but removed my muddy footwear and trekked upstairs depositing Akane, the tanto and my bag in my room before grabbing a sweater, a tank mask underwear and old torn jeans before taking the most relaxing shower of my life. Oh it was great as I changed and grabbed my bag from my room. I looked into Sasuke's as I noticed a bowl of strawberry stalks beside a discarded can of whipped cream. I blinked. BAD THOUGHTS! I ran downstairs beating myself for the mental images of my brother and Sakura as both of them gave me concerned looks as I ran into the living room beating myself.

I plunked myself down and turned on the TV as I started marking. I was about halfway through the pile when the doorbell rang. I tossed up my mask and opened the door to see Kiko and Momo looking thoroughly drenched as I ushered them in. Sakura came around as Kiko instantly fainted while Momo blushed at seeing Sasuke standing with only a pain of pants and a yukata thrown over his shoulders.

'Sakura-chan. Sasuke-kun this is Momo-chan and Kiko-chan who just passed out' I laughed as I took the little white haired girl and lay her on the couch in the recovery position as Sakura gave her a little jolt of chakra to wake her up.

The little girl blinked her eyes owlishly as Momo held my hand staring at Sasuke like he was a living god.

'hey sleepy' Sakura smiled as Kiko grinned and blushed.

'it's so nice to meet you Sakura-sama!' the girls gushed as Sakura looked at me rather confused.

'Kiko-chan thinks you're an aspiration that she wants to become. She wants to be a medical nin like yourself and be strong and brave' I said as Kiko nodded.

'You're such a great kunoichi! You're so strong to be taught by the Hokage-sama and Kakashi-sama and rescued Yuki-sensei and and… You're friends with Sasuke-san and Sasuke-san and. You're my hero!' she gushed as Sakura blushed a little. Sasuke looked highly amused as his girlfriend was being gushed over by a mini fangirl. I wondered how he had felt growing up being alone but constantly have girls after him as I noticed Momo was still staring at Sasuke slightly hiding behind me.

'Momo-chan Sasuke-kun doesn't bite you can say hello' I said as she blushed and bowed but didn't say anything Sasuke gave an amused smirk as he crouched to her level.

'Do you want to be a medical ninja too?' he asked in a rather bored tone as Momo blushed worse but shook her head. She was exactly like Hinata as she tried to hide more behind me.

'What do you want to be Momo-chan?' I asked as she looked up at me with her blue eyes.

'A Teacher' she muttered as Sasuke smirked and messed up her hair with his hand that nearly covered the small girl's head.

'Good choice. You can be Like Yuki-sensei' he said standing to his full height again. I mouthed a 'thank you' to him as he gave me a 'you owe me' look. I smirked as we both knew it would be another familial smack down at the training grounds sometimes soon.

There was a loud woof from outside as Yasu came inside and gave us all a bored look.

'Master said he's going to be late because the target is taking longer to assassinate than planned. He wont be back until late tomorrow night' he said as I nodded thanking the big dog as Momo and Kiko were amazed that our family had so many talking animals in it.

'Hm' Sasuke seemed to muse to himself as Kiko continued to talk to Sakura as Momo went to sit beside her friend. Sasuke moved into the kitchen looking at me to follow. I took the hint and said I'd be right back as I followed my brother into the little room.

Sasuke was leaning against the counter as I stood by the fridge as he looked at me.

'What did that kid say earlier today?' he asked folding his arms as I noticed the sushi packaging in the recycling. At least he had enjoyed it.

'You know the sushi was supposed to be a calm peace offering' I said as his eyes narrowed dangerously. I heard Sakura laugh before the front door closed and the house descended into silence. The girls were gone, that was good as Sakura had the sense to stay out of the siblings business and went straight upstairs to Sasuke's room.

I sighed and sat down at the table feeling depressed as I reflected on Katsu's comments. They had struck deep because those were the thoughts that tempted me about leaving Rin about becoming something that wasn't a murderer or a killing machine. I guess I hadn't come far at all.

'He said that the entire Uchiha clan were murderers because Itachi-kun killed his father. He said we were all insane and that we needed to be exterminated and that we were cold blooded murderers. Not that it matters if it wasn't us.' My mind flashed back to Katsu's enraged face as he spat at me from Nori's jaws. It was enough to really think I was a murderer as the same thoughts from earlier welled up. 'It doesn't seem to matter that we didn't do anything and yet we're still blamed for it.' I sighed my voice didn't even sound like mine as I noticed Sasuke looked like he was about to go ballistic and rip Konoha to shreds to hurt this kid as badly as he could.

'We're not murderers. Itachi was. As for the family insanity that everyone claims we have I have yet to see it.' He said as I gave a bitter laugh remembering why Kakashi no longer trusted Sasuke.

'Sasuke you abandoned the village to train under the guidance of a monster. That counts as insanity.' I said as Sasuke gave me a frustrated and agonized look. I knew that he hadn't known at the time what he had been doing only that he had wanted power so badly he was willing to do anything for it.

'I know we're not insane Sasuke-kun' I said quietly. 'But I wonder if I do qualify as a murderer sometimes with all of the people I've killed in cold blood.' I sighed as I stood. I needed to run. Run and run and run. I moved to go upstairs as Sasuke didn't stop me. I went into my room and got the cloak Itachi had given me. As I put it on I noticed how it actually smelt like my younger brother and teacher as it made me suddenly feel safe and at home. As insane as that sounded feeling at home with an S-class criminal maybe I was a murderer.

Sasuke appeared in my doorway as he blinked at the cloak I was wearing.

'It was a gift from Itachi-sensei' I said as Sasuke gave a nod. His eyes were still hard as I gave him an apologetic look. 'I'm going to go for a run. I'll be back in time for work' I said as Sasuke nodded and I crouched on the window frame.

'You're not insane or a murderer Onee-chan' Sasuke muttered as I heard Sakura's footsteps in the hallway. I gave him a smile.

'I may not be insane but I am a murderer.' I said quietly as I jumped out the window landing softly on the bough of an old pine as I took off at a dead run for the rapidly approaching wall. Running felt good. I let everything go and just felt the increased rhythm of my feet as they hit objects and bounced of, my pulse flooding through my ears, and the pressure the wind had against my face. I was going at an incredible speed it almost felt like I was flying as I spread my arms out in my cloak. The sleeves billowed and caught the wind so it almost felt like I could fly as I cleared the wall and kept running on the tree tops.

I left Konoha far, far behind as I headed south east for the ocean. I ran and ran and ran.

I knew I wasn't insane. I didn't enjoy killing. I found no pleasure in it. I found no power in it. It was just painful and brought more pain to others.

But was I a murderer?

Yes. Yes I was. I had killed more people than I could count. Had my hands slathered in their blood, watched them die, watched them scream for loved ones watch loved ones scream for them. I had never killed a child even when ordered though. Did that save me from being a complete monster? Maybe. I kept running.

What would Kakashi say if he knew? Then I laughed a myself. He was a murderer too. We all were. Shinobi were murderers. We were ordered to kill people in cold blood. We were ordered to kill people who stood in our way. We were ordered to kill people who could be witnesses to our murders. We were all murderers.

How the hell did any of us function?

There was something deeply wrong with this but as I realized that sadly the economy here depended upon killing and wars to keep everyone alive.

I stopped at the top of a massive white pine as I noticed a silhouette flying about 20 degrees to my right. I activated the byakugan and fixated on the figure and zoomed in. It turned out to be Deidara on one of his clay birds as I laughed and shook my head.

My luck. It seemed I was always destined to be in trouble with someone as I turned and headed back to Konoha. As much as I liked Deidara I really didn't want any company as I noticed I was being followed. I traced the chakra flares as I noticed they were an ANBU patrol squad as I flared my chakra even more to distract them away from Deidara.

I knew I could probably out run them as I felt them change course. I created a clone hid just about all of my chakra and took off in a different direction from my clone that was headed for Konoha. I headed south.

Back to running as the swift but muffled taps of where my feet met branches was soothing almost as I went back to my musing.

At least I knew I was a murderer and I guessed I would have to continue it to get paid as an assassin. But why had this never bothered me before? Well it had when Yuuto had died and I had left Rin but I had continued living this way for how long? At least three years since I left Rin. I sighed. I knew I would go back to killing for the hokage as soon as I was well enough. The money of being an academy teacher was nowhere near the salary I was use to getting. I could get at least 300, 000 ryu for an s-ranked mission instead of the couple 1000 every month for the teachers pay. I knew Iruka stood it just because he loved the kids so damned much. I had to admit they were pretty cute but after today I didn't really feel like going back.

I wonder how long until Tsunade thought I was back to my normal self? I felt pretty normal as I kept running. I had lost ANBU miles back as my clone disappeared and I realized they had thought I was Akatsuki by my cloak. I'd have to keep hidden then if I was to wear this out and around. It was amazingly warm and yet breathed at the same time as I fingered the soft inner layer inside of my sleeves. I had no idea what it was but it was quite nice as the tang of ocean came to my senses. Soon the trees broke and I was standing on the cusp of a cliff that ended in ocean. It was an amazing sight as it looked like an endless black plain that stretched forever.

I wanted to run across it and never return as I sighed and stood there on the little point basking in the waxing moonlight watching the stars twinkle and reflect off of the rolling waves of the ocean. It was so peaceful. I took a deep breath and allowed myself to relax. All of my problems faded as I stood there.

The ocean always had a calming effect on me. It had some strange way of always being able to lull me into feeling better no matter how upset or horrendous my situation seemed.

Kakashi would be home tomorrow night. I breathed in a deep sigh. Kakashi was my anchor in this world. He really was. Without him I would more than likely be dead. Either from murder or suicide. It was really bad over the last few years but things were looking up for me. I looked at my pocket watch noticing it was almost 5 as I sighed. No sleep for me tonight. Oh well it was well worth it to sort out all of the buzzing thoughts in my head as I took one deep draw of salty air before heading back into the forest.


	23. A warning and reassignments

My thoughts drifted to Kakashi as I doubled my speed to meet the slowly brightening horizon. Kakashi had been a mystery to so many for so long. Even to me. There were still things about the man I didn't know like what types of music her preferred. If he was Bi seeing as how Iruka had reacted. I would have to ask him about that. It would be quite interesting in my mind. Especially if Kakashi was and had dated Iruka before me. The thought made me giggle. Maybe I was crazy? Either that or I was a pervert. But for some reason it didn't bother me. The pervert thing did though… was I one? I wasn't peeking in guys change rooms and such so I guessed I wasn't. Not like Kakashi. Nope after reading those novels and from some of the places I've seen that man sitting around town he definitely was a closet pervert.

I shook my head and noticed the wall around Konoha was coming up fast. That's when I saw something that made my blood run cold. Outside of the main gates was a man pinned to the main gates. He was dead but the way he was arranged he looked like a scarecrow. I landed in the dirt in the middle of the road and stared. The man was in ANBU and had his face mask askew allowing his black hair to be combed over to the left madly so it stuck out. Blood dripped down the door as I felt panic rising in me again. I screamed. It seemed like the right thing to do as I went to check on the ninja. He was definitely dead and had been for a few hours judging by the stench coming off of him as I backed away and noticed something freak about the way the man was dressed.

I took another look as my eyes went wide. He looked like Kakashi! With his hair combed to the side, forehead protector askew over one eye and stretched on the door like a scarecrow. I felt a panic attack rising as I screamed again as someone had raised an alarm at my screaming as I fell to my knees trying not to hyperventilate as I saw Kotetsu look at me from over the wall.

'AKATSUKI!' he yelled as I looked up to see more jounins and chounin looking down as me as I sat up and pointed at the door. I couldn't think clearly. What kind of sick, sick joke was this? I could hear screaming not realizing it was coming from my own throat as I felt someone put a hand on my shoulder. I flailed knocking them off as I noticed it was Asuma as he grabbed me and tried to calm me down.

'Yuki, yuki, listen calm down what's wrong?' he asked as I took six gulps of air. This was completely unlike me to be freaking out but the rational sense of me had hidden when it had clicked at who this was mimicking.

I pointed to the door as Asuma looked up. I watched th colour drain from his face as I whispered one word.

'Kakashi' as the world seemed to freeze.

'Oh my god' Asuma breathed as Kotetsu yelled something. 'GET A SQUAD DOWN HERE NOW, DON'T OPEN THE GATES!' he roared as people jumped off the wall landing safely in the branches as Asuma put his arms around me as I tried my hardest to keep under control. My mind raced. Where was Kakashi, was he alright, who did this, what did it mean, was it a warning? I was in a state of shock as I heard Asuma talking gently to me as I saw a squad of ANBU, one with pink hair I noticed shoot off into the darkness.

I watched as a team took down the body from the doors as Asuma was talking to me. I felt like I was in a dream as I suddenly had to find Deidara. I wrenched myself out of Asuma's grasp and took off to the west. Asuma yelled after me and gave chase but he soon fell far behind me as I moved so fast that things passed by me in a solid streak. I knew it was a long shot but I climbed the tallest tree and surveyed the area. Nothing. I looked harder as a spec of blonde caught my eye. Far off about 110 kilometers away from Deidara.

I didn't know how to get him to notice me as I saw him bank sharply and head toward me. I waited on the high branches focusing in as Deidara grinned as he played with something on his left eye. I waved as he waved back. I sighed when he reached me.

'Yuki-san!' he said as he noticed how haggard I looked. 'what happened?' he asked as I explained what I had seen and what had happened. Deidara looked surprised.

'That's extremely strange. We've been working in thunder for the last little while unless… You killed Maro right?' he asked as I nodded.

'You were there!' I said as Deidara nodded.

'Right I remember you decapitated him and we took his and Orochimaru's heads and hid them' Deidara mused as he sighed. 'The only thing I can think of is that someone wants you dead for whatever reason. Have any enemies?' he asked trying to help as I gave him a blunt look. 'Right Kunoichi, lots of enemies' he muttered to himself as I climbed onto the bird and he made it glide around in the sky absently.

'Doesn't leader-sama have you on a mission?' I asked as Deidara nodded.

'Yep looking for anything strange and this is strange.' He said as I sighed giving him a deadpan look. Deidara was trying to make the situation light I knew but still wasn't helping. 'The only thing I can think of is that Maro or one of his cronies has managed to get power and rise and decided to kill you and torture you at any cost.' Deidara said as I suddenly felt sick. 'Plus it could just be a different shinobi who wants revenge on you' he said as I suddenly felt even more ill than before.

'I have no idea. You said Maro and orochimaru are dead. Then who else could it be?' I asked as Deidara shrugged.

'I'll go talk to leader immediately and expect a visit from Itachi and Kisame. They'll want to know about this.' He said as I nodded. I noticed we had drifted close to Konoha as I thanked Deidara and dropped from the bird before he quickly flew off and disappeared into the clouds. I landed with a thump on the forest floor as I sat there for a moment before I heard Asuma yelling my name.

'I'm over here!' I called as Asuma landed on a branch above me as he sighed and jumped down.

'Don't do that! It's not safe plus you're still recovering and if that … scarecrow was a message aimed at Kakashi that means it's directly connected to you' he said as I nodded as he sighed and gave me another hug.

'The ANBU squad found Kakashi and his team. They're alive and returning to Konoha unharmed. One of the ANBU said that Kakashi had nearly shit a brick and is running back here as fast as he can.' Asuma said as I nodded. He seemed thrown for a minute as he looked at me. 'Are you alight you seem very calm?' he asked as I looked up at him and grinned.

'I'm worried but… let's say I have some strings I'm pulling from behind to get some more information that we couldn't normally attain' I said as Asuma gave me a weird look as I glanced down at my cloak. I was suddenly utterly grateful that Itachi had given me a similar yet unique cloak for Akatsuki seeing as I was now everyone's ninja whore it seemed.

Asuma stared at me for a moment before it clicked.

'You're tricky like a fox Yuki-chan' Asuma said as I nodded. 'how reliable is the information you're getting? he asked. Even the cautious Ninja as I sighed.

'I would follow their information to the T because the Akatsuki do not made mistakes' I said as Asuma nodded and dragged me back to the village. 'You should discuss this with Tsunade-san later' he said as I nodded. It would help to know that they had another source of information. Even if the Akatsuki were just helping me in reality.

We were met at the main gate by a massive group of ANBU and jounin that were geared up to go searching the nearby woods for clues of anything. A few of them gave me weird looks as Asuma dragged me past them with an arm firmly around my shoulders. He guided me past the early morning markets that still were abandoned in this early hour and took me straight to the Hokage. The usual ANBU guards gave me a weird look as well before letting us in. Asuma and I stood in front of the desk As Tsunade strode in wearing a pair of pj pants and a beaten T-shirt as she looked at us like we were insane.

'What happened at the gate?' she demanded looking me over and raised an eyebrow 'Akatsuki?' she asked as I sighed.

'It was a gift from my brother okay I'm not in league with them I wear it because its warm' I said as Tsunade laughed at me. She didn't seem to care really she could have me killed instantly with her two guards just standing outside the door or do it herself.

'Besides that. What the hell has happened to my gate' she snapped slamming her hands on the ancient wooden desk in front of her making all of her papers jump at least a foot from its surface.

'You see Yuki-san here was on an early morning run and when she came back she found one of your ANBU stretched across the front gate like a scarecrow.' Asuma said as I steeled myself and kept calm.

'A scarecrow.' Tsunade gave us a piercing look as she sat down. 'any other distinguishing features?' she asked as Asuma swallowed and looked at me. I must've looked a mess because he gave me a rather sad look.

'Yes. The ANBU had a similar hound mask to Kakashi-san's his hair was also combed into a similar pattern as Kakashi-san's and he was wearing a replica uniform of Kakashi-san's although the ninja's clothing is not from Konoha.' Asuma said as I looked at him. Tsunade seemed interested in this news and a little disturbed at the same time.

'Do we know where the uniform came from?' Tsunade asked as Asuma shook his head. She wrote something on paper and looked up at me. 'Anything else?' she asked as Asuma nudged me. I sighed and looked at the Hokage. I needed training and this is exactly what this was.

'I have personally enlisted some sources of very reliable information. Although you may not like where I'm getting the resources' I said as Tsunade's face hardened she knew what I was talking about as she gave me a grave look.

'You went to the Akatsuki' it wasn't a question more of a statement of the truth as the air felt as dense as ice as she stared at me. 'Why would you do something as thick as to do that? They're S-class criminals!' She was standing now and the desk was groaning under the pressure as I gulped and put on my business mask.

'That may be but I've worked with them and gained their trust. They have the greatest knowledge and resources on everything that goes on here. If anyone can figure it out then it would be them' I said calmly as Asuma stared at me. I had just gone a complete 180 from scared and timid to confident and assertive. Tsunade glared at me before sitting back into her seat.

'Well then. I assume YOU will be talking with their leader and various other people' she said as I nodded. She didn't look impressed. 'I will warn you if one of them steps into Konoha they're dead. I don't care if its your brother, his partner or any of those lunatics. If they're in Konoha they're dead.' She stated as I gave a sharp nod.

there was a rap on the door as the ANBU with the hawk mask stuck his head in.

'The Jounin of the recalled mission are back and are requesting an audience. ' he said as Tsunade sighed.

'Today is going to be a long day. You're dismissed. Bring them in Hawk-san' Tsunade called as the large oak doors opened as Asuma once again wrapped a bear like arm around my shoulders as he dragged me from the room. I noticed Kakashi was standing with the other jounin as Asuma's bulk nearly hid me completely as Kakashi walked right past us and into the Hokage's office. I blinked, he hadn't even seen me as Asuma sighed. I glared at the big man. He had planned it this way as I opened my mouth to say something but he clamped a cigarette smelling hand over my nose and mouth.

'Not a word until we're outside. Cant go distracting Kakashi-kun when he needs to be filled in on why they were recalled from an A-ranked mission.' Asuma said as I gave him a dirty look and licked his hand. He let go and gave me a rather disgusted look as I grinned before he wiped his hand off on my sleeve.

'Jerk' I muttered

'Woman' he countered as we gave each other unimpressed looks before laughing. Asuma was just a funny man as he dragged me over to Kurenai's house.

'Why are we here?' I asked as Asuma sighed.

'Well Sasuke and Sakura-chan are out and Naruto-kun's still asleep so I thought you might want breakfast and Kurenai-chan would really like female company I think' he said with a rather interesting smile as he put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it. I gave him a knowing look he knew as well as I did that he had been voluntold to be my babysitter until Kakashi or Sasuke could get back. Frigging male dominant society even thought I was the owner of the entire Uchiha fortune because of the maternal lines of the Uchiha's.

we reached the little house down my the river as Asuma went inside. I followed only to be assaulted by the warm smells of toast, eggs, cinnamon and baking as I followed Asuma up a flight of about 6 steps into the kitchen.

Kurenai's house was decorated richly with bright yet tasteful colours as I walked into a red kitchen with black counters and white cabinets. Asuma was giving his wife to be a hug and kissed her cheek as she grinned and caught sight of me. Kurenai was huge! I was wondering if she was going to have twins or triplets from how big she was as she wrapped me in a warm hug.

'Yuki-chan you're too skinny you should eat more. C'mon I have to feed this bear of a man and you can have some too' she joked as Asuma laughed and rubbed her swollen stomach as she passed. It made me feel warm as I took a seat at their high kitchen table. It really reminded me of my apartment in Rin as I noticed how everything looked very modern unlike my house now. Kurenai made an impressive spread for breakfast. Pancakes, toast, eggs, bacon, hash browns as Asuma took a great deal of food. I was hungry but not overly so as I took only a fraction of what Asuma ate. Kurenai chatted about the baby, she swore it was going to be twins as I asked her if she would put Sasuke in charge of babysitting once or twice just to see the young man squirm. Asuma found this hilarious.

Really I was terribly anxious about Kakashi. I was getting a handle on pushing away my panic attacks and calming down I thought as I crammed another blueberry pancake into my mouth as Asuma was telling me a story of what Ino had done once to Shikamaru and nearly killed the poor boy with a flower. I laughed at the ridiculous story but my mind was in a separate place trying to analyze who in the seven hells could be threatening Kakashi and ultimately me.

There was a polite knock on Kurenai's door as Asuma got up. Kurenai argued with him as he gave her a look and kept her in her seat by shoving her into the with his massive hands. I laughed and shook my head grabbing a piece of toast and smothered it in strawberry preserves.

'Is my sister here?' Sasuke's voice floated up as Asuma returned upstairs looking a little wary as the stoic Sasuke dressed in an ANBU uniform calmly stepped upstairs. I nodded and stood thanking Kurenai for the wonderful breakfast as she sent me on my way with a stack of pancakes, toast, and eggs for everyone at home. She really would be a great mother as I smiled at the small thought.

I stepped out onto the mist street as I passed Sasuke a piece of buttered toast. He took it and munched as we walked. I was surprised that he took the toast in public but as I noticed the streets were still bare from the ridiculously early hour we were walking around at.

'Do you want to train this afternoon?' Sasuke asked suddenly his voice no more than a mutter. I gave my kid brother a little smile. He knew when I was distressed and knew that training was a great way to take your mind off of anything.

'I'd like that, swords again?' I asked as he gave a 'hn' and a shrug polishing off the piece of toast. As cold as Sasuke was I knew he loved me, I was really the only family he had that he actually liked. I loved him too, as cold and unemotional as he seemed I knew he really was a very loving person who a great amount of insight. Much like Kakashi I realized as I laughed a little. Sasuke didn't ask why as we kept walking in the foggy morning.

We hit main street as a few shop keepers stared openly at us and a few whispers of Akatsuki passed by us as we kept going. Sasuke remained cool I hadn't noticed but he hand put his ANBU mask back on after he had finished his toast and my huge neckband and completely disheveled hair made me look more like medusa than myself.

'Kakashi-sensei is worried' Sasuke muttered as I gave a nod.

'I figured he would be after this morning' I said as Sasuke gave a slight nod. We continued walking as I suddenly wondered where Nori was. Usually I could sense the big cats presence but it seemed like it had faded completely. 'have you seen Nori?' I asked as Sasuke looked at me through his cat mask.

'No not since she disappeared from the academy' he mentioned as I thought. Where could that hulking beast have gone? I shrugged and pushed the gate open. Sasuke shut it. My guess was that she was out hunting something bigger than a sheep in the forest and had gorged herself and was now sleeping it off in a tree somewhere. Perfect timing to leave Konoha and me for a few days I lamented but really lately nothing had stayed a constant. It seemed that everyone either want me dead or my lover dead because of our heritages or some strange grudge they held to about us.

I heard a rustling as Sasuke took off his mask as I was reminded that mine was long gone. I would miss that dragon mask. As I tried to remember where it might've gone but came up blank. I was terrible for loosing things.

We entered from the backdoor as it had become the main door for us instead of the formal front door. As soon as I had stepped into the house I heard the patter of feet before I looked up to e crushed by two different people. One blonde and one pink as Sakura was talking a million miles a minute as was Naruto as I looked over to see Sasuke with his head in the fridge his arm guards and mask forgotten on the table.

'ARE YOU OKAY?!' came the shout from both of them as I looked at the two teens. I grinned as produced the food Kurenai had made.

'Of course. Kurenai-chan made breakfast. Nii-chan get your head out of the fridge!' I commanded as the looked confused as they explained the word for refrigerator to me. There were still some words here that I didn't know like fridge, computer, sun screen, stupid things really.

Anyway I had just set the food out when the back door opened and Pakkun padded in. He jumped into my lap and promptly rolled over for a belly rub. Kakashi's dogs were more friendly to me now as I felt a chakra flare from Kakashi's house.

'I'll be right back' I smiled as the teens continued eating discussing something about the weird way the man had been strung up by the doors this morning. Obviously the information Asuma and I had gathered hadn't been expressed to anyone outside of the jounin patrol that had returned or the Hokage.

I filled a plate and put some tinfoil over it as Pakkun trotted along beside me as I took the food over to Kakashi's house.

'He's really tired' Pakkun said as I nodded and entered his small house. I walked over to the kitchen where Yasu was sleeping under the table I felt Kakashi shifting around in his room from his muted chakra flares as I set the plate in the microwave before I went about feeding the dogs. I heard shuffled footsteps as the dogs all came and started eating as I went about putting some food for Kakashi. Sasuke looked pretty tired when he came to get me so I could only imagine how exhausted Kakashi would be seeing as he was running on months of little to no sleep as it was.

I was putting the pancakes into the microwave as I was enveloped in a warm hug from behind. I felt Kakashi's mask brush against my face as he rested his head on my shoulder.

'It smells wonderful' he muttered as I smiled and set the pancakes to warm.

'You can thank Kurenai-chan for the wonderful cooking' I said turning in his arms to face him. He looked like he had just come in the door as he still had slightly ragged mission clothing still on and smelt like sweat and earth and was that pine. He looked run ragged though. He was paler than normal and slightly shaky and had a dark bruise like ring forming under his eye as I gave him a hug and a kiss.

'You should sleep today' I said as Kakashi sighed not letting me go even as the microwave timer went off.

'I talked with the Hokage as soon as I returned. Supposedly someone left a warning to me' he said as I paled. Did he know that I had found it and flipped out/ He drew a shaky breath and hugged me closer. This had him really shaken as I rubbed circles on his back. 'Tsunade said that Asuma had found the body on a morning patrol this morning and you were out for a morning run when you came across him raising the alarm. She thought it was Akatsuki until she received information proving otherwise but wouldn't tell us where from. Right now they're analyzing where the clothing came from and any leads to other countries.' He said and looked like he was going to pass out at any minute. I looked up him and his brown eyes seemed dull and tired as I gently steered him to the table.

'I know Kashi-kun the hokage talked with Asuma-kun and I, but let this rest for right now. We're safe and you need food and sleep and maybe a shower' I reassured him quietly giving him a kiss and putting the food in front of him. He ate as I went out into the yard with the dogs to play fetch because Kiiro was getting restless and Haiiro and Kuro wanted to see who could run faster around the yard. I tossed the stick for them a few times before leaving them to go attend on Kakashi. I poked my head in the kitchen noticing he had fallen asleep with his head resting on his arm his empty plate pushed away as I noticed how he really looked like a little kid after playing too much.

I walked over and gently shook his shoulder.

'Kashi-kun, you'll hurt your back if you sleep like that' I muttered and shook him again as he woke up a little bit. He blinked a little disorientated as I helped to his feet. He was still shaky as I managed to get him upstairs alright. I made him strip so I could wash the nasty smelling clothing as he was too tired to care and did as he was told falling into a dead sleep as soon as he hit the bed. I laughed at him silently as I pulled a pillow down and put it under his head and threw the covers over his askew and now snoring slightly body. I gently pulled down his mask and off his forehead protector as he sighed and snuggled deeply into the pillow. I folded the protector and put it on his bedside table as I tossed the discarded clothing into the wash before I headed back over to the main house.

Breakfast was finished and I was due at work in 5 minutes as I grimaced. I was already feeling the effects of no sleep and had wanted to badly to crash with Kakashi but I had to get paid as I donned my uniform, waved at the teens watching TV and used the teleportation jutsu to land right in the middle of Iruka's classroom. I startled the young man at the loud pop as he was still marking as I apologized producing the half marked tests. He said it was alright and pointed to another stack of work that was on my desk as I sighed.

'What is it this time?' I asked as he grinned.

'Math' I winced. I had always hated math. Yes it was essential but I was always terrible at the practical stuff like finances but give me triadic equations and ask me to calculate the median or create and equation to move it I had no problem.

So began a long, long, tiring day. It was really odd going without sleep everything seemed surreal. Even the Kunai I had to dodge at practice that morning. Iruka knew I was distracted as I kept wondering if Deidara had come up with anything at all. Anything. I sighed and plucked a shuriken out of the air as it was aimed at my head.

'Sorry Yuki-sensei!' I had been getting a great deal of those lately. Were these kids getting worse? I wondered as I showed them once again the proper way to throw a shuriken. Some of them got it but most of them still failed miserably. Katsu was back in class but he seemed happier and a little more friendly as Iruka explained that Tsunade had done some crazy jutsus on him as he was still quiet but not as angry or as vengeful.

That was a relaxing thought as I wondered who could've been desperate enough to kill a Konoha shinobi and dress him like Kakashi and pin him like a scarecrow as a warning. Maro was dead. Orochimaru was dead. Then who the hell else wanted me dead? Sure being a ninja made you a great deal of enemies but no one stood out in my mind. Kabuto was also dead I saw him fall.

I sat down in the dirt and watched the kids attempt to hack at the targets with senbon needles today. The darts were going everywhere as Iruka and I watched the kids try to throw them like darts as we suggested. Many were getting frustrated as Iruka looked down at me.

'You seem distracted' he said as I nodded.

'No sleep. Pulled an all nighter because I went running to clear my head, now all I can think of is who is trying to kill me or Kakashi' I said as Iruka nodded. I was pretty sure news of the ANBU pinned to the doors had gone around like a flash fire this morning.

'I can see why you're distracted' he said giving my shoulder a pat. 'But don't think about it too much. Let your sources do that' he said as I snapped my head up how did he know?

'Asuma-san and I cross paths going to work every morning' he explained as I nodded. Of course Asuma would tell Iruka. Iruka was one of my best friends here as we spent so much time together at the academy. I gave a curt nod as I noticed Nobu running over with a senbon sticking out of his arm as I sighed and produced a bandaid from my pocket.

Dealing with children was had but some of hem were crafty as I found out when I turned for a second and found that someone had put a kick me sign on my back. Little demons. Another long day was done and I had thankfully shifted through the worst of my paperwork as I carried a lighter amount in my bag. I walked home because of the nice sunshine as I saw Sasuke waiting for me at the bridge by the house. I gave a smile as he handed me Akane.

'Go easy on me. I haven't slept in 48 hours' I said as my brother gave me a smirk. Now hew as going to hit twice as hard as I sighed and dropped my pack by the training gate. The training was pretty basic but with my dulled reflexes I took quite the beating from my younger brother until I got pissed off at him smacking me in the head with his sword which I promptly froze into a tree. The session ended with Sasuke being mildly miffed that I had frozen his sword to a tree and me being sore, tired and wanting to sleep for a month. A soldier pill would've been nice but I trekked home instead Sasuke having to catch me once or twice just because I was too tired to lift my feet.

I made it to the couch and passed out and awoke I assumed several hours later to find the house silent as the grave. I looked at the clock and noticed it read about 2 am as I got off the couch and showered. It felt nice as I changed into Pj's and sat on my bed. I yawned debating on checking on Kakashi as I heard the rustle of fabric as I looked to my window to see Itachi standing calmly on the slanted roof just outside.

'What are you doing?' I hissed through the window grabbing my cloak and jumping out onto the roof.

'We have some information' he said as I nodded and followed him from the roof outside of Konoha's walls into the safety of the dense forest.

'What is it?' I asked as Itachi stopped and turned to face me.

'Orochimaru is not dead.' Itachi said coldly as I felt my heart freeze in my chest.

'Not dead?' I asked as he nodded. 'What about Maro?' I asked as Itachi nodded.

'He is dead' he stated as I breathed a sigh of relief. 'But Kabuto is not' He said as I looked back up at him.

'h-how?' I asked I had seen the man fall, seen him die. Orochimaru's heart was crushed by Maro unless… it was all planned. I have never actually seen Orochimaru die.

'We decapitated him but as it turns out that wasn't enough to stop him. He implanted some of his DNA into Kabuto and used him as a puppet to reassemble himself. Orochimaru is angry especially at you for nearly getting him killed by Maro.' Itachi said as I steeled myself. Maro was dead. The torturer was dead. Gone. But we had a new problem. Snake man. He had been the original threat as I drew in a shaky breath to calm myself and looked at my brother. He seemed as cold as ever but his eyes held some concern for me as I gave him a nod.

'So it's Orochimaru and sound?' I asked as Itachi shook his head.

'No, Sound has dissolved into fighting amongst itself. Although Orochimaru will soon gain control once again and become almost like a god rising from the dead.' Itachi said as I nodded. This was getting serious and orochimaru had a personal vendetta against me and Kakashi. Oh dear.

'Thanks Itachi-sensei. Do you think the Akatsuki can keep an ear open for any more information?' I asked as he gave a nod. I thanked him as he dissolved into the night. I wound my way back into Konoha as I landed on the wall someone grabbed me.

'What are you doing?!' the voice hissed as I realized it was just Genma.

'Getting information' I said as I was released and he grabbed my shoulders glaring at me.

'Getting information dressed like that' he said as I gave him a dark look. He glared at me. 'You shouldn't be outside of the wall unless going or returning from a mission' he said as I rolled my eyes.

'Diplomatic immunity' I said as he rolled his eyes and groaned. He had forgotten about that.

'Cheeky little-' I ignored him and jumped off of the wall heading back to the house. Genma would be furious that I ran off on him but meh he was incredibly annoying anyway. I landed on the roof outside of my room as I quickly crawled in and took off my cloak. So I knew who was after me. It was good to know. I would report to Tsunade in the morning as I decided to check on Kakashi seeing as how exhausted he had been when he had come home.

I slipped out my window again and jumped easily to the next roof and over to where his bedroom would be. I opened the window and jumped in. I knew Kakashi was instantly awake as his breathing pattern faltered.

'Just me Kashi-kun' I said as I heard the bed sheets rustle and his silver hair caught in the moonlight. He blinked hazily at me as I was glad to see some slight pallor back in his skin as I sat on the bed.

'What time is it?' he muttered looking at the clock noticing it was half past three. He looked at me and rubbed some of the sleep out of his eyes 'What are you doing up at this hour?' I shrugged.

'Came home, passed out, had a shower, went for a walk, came to make sure you were okay' I said as he blinked wearily and nodded. I gave him a hug as he sighed and buried his face in my hair. His breath on the back of my neck tickled as I gave his cheek a kiss. He kissed my neck before letting out a yawn that actually cracked his jaw. He pulled back and flopped down onto the bed grabbing my arms and pulling me down on top of him.

'Stay' he muttered already half asleep as I laughed quietly and moved to lie beside him as he curled around me his long legs crisscrossing through mine as I heard him start to snore lightly as I gave his forehead a kiss as I drifted off as well.

I woke up about three hours later. Man my sleep cycle was screwed up as I noticed the sky was just starting to tinge with pink. I sighed and lay back relaxing as Kakashi continued to snore his face firmly resting on my chest with one arm over my waist and his legs thrown over me. He was incredibly warm as I heard a grunt from the foot of the bed. I looked up to see all of the dogs sleeping in various places around the room. I laughed as Pakkun kicked in his sleep.

'Yuki' Nori's voice was quiet as I looked to my right where she sat in the predawn light.

'Where have you been?' I hissed as she gave me a bored glance.

'No where important I assume Itachi found you' she said as I nodded 'then you know that you need much more training preferably with myself.' She said as I sighed. Annoying feline but she was right, Nori was always right. Damned cat. Why did I get stuck with someone who knew everything all the time? I ran my hand absently through Kakashi's hair as I noticed his breathing hitched a little. He immediately calmed down and relaxed becoming more like tapioca pudding as he seemed to cover more of my body with his.

'Someone seems relaxed' Nori commented her eyes flashing with humour.

'Don't make me come over there and throw a bucket of water at you' I threatened as Nori gave a catty grin. 'Anyway we don't know what Orochimaru wants exactly anyway so until we can pull up that information I think it would be best for all of us to stay around Konoha' I said giving her a knowing look as she pretended not to hear me.

'Training is what you need. Maybe your lapdog there could help. He seems like one of the stronger males in this place' she said pointedly as I shook my head.

'Animals always bring everything back to who is the strongest, fastest, and most likely to survive' I said as Nori gave me an amused look.

'I'm a cat. I don't have the same range of emotion that you humans do. Its irritating at time because I don't understand some of your feelings in situations but makes life simpler in the long run' she said stretching out and licking her back. Kakashi had settled again as I ran my hands over the pressure points n his neck and back relaxing as many as I could reach. This man was tighter than a spring as I had to hit some of the pressure points at least two or three times before the muscles would relax.

'Well the next time I need advice on who I should have kids with I'll ask you' I said as Nori gave a hiss of a laugh.

'I like this one. As fussy as he is he'd definitely fight against the world for you. You should've seen him when you disappeared we couldn't keep him in the village. He kept scouting out trying to find any traces of you and when we did beat him back to the village he spent hours pouring over known Akatsuki sightings and going through reports looking for any.' Nori was blunt as I looked down at the sleeping man and the shock of silver hair that was tickling my face. He had really been that concerned, It made my chest hurt when I thought about the one time I had tricked him with the Akatsuki.

'I'm such a horrible person' I muttered as Nori jerked her head up startled at the sudden change in pitch in my voice as I felt tears coming on. Kakashi was such a sweet man all he wanted was someone to love, someone to love him, just for who he was not because of his family or his status as an elite ninja but to see the tired, lonely, and quirky inner Kakashi who was terrified of pineapple and loved Icha Icha.

'What are you talking about?' Nori asked as I ran my hand along Kakashi's back and shoulders fixing any pressure points I had missed. I debated on telling her as I sighed, she would know my distress even if she didn't understand the emotions I had. It had obviously alarmed her, my shift in emotions as I sighed.

'When Kakashi found the hideout in River or rain or wherever it was I…I had to stay with the Akatsuki to fight against Maro and orochimaru so…I had to fake being recaptured by Kisame.' I said quietly looking past Nori to the rapidly reddening sky. Nori seemed stunned for a moment before she fixed her luminescent eyes on me.

'You did it for the benefit of many though' she said as I nodded. 'In the long run I saved this area from becoming a pit of war but… I caused him so much pain' I whispered as the agony on his face flashed in my mind's eye as I wanted to punch myself for being such an asshole. Oh well it was in the past. Kakashi gave a rather loud snore as Nori jumped and gave the slumbering man a dirty look as I stifled a giggle.

'how do you sleep with something like that?' she asked as I ran my hands through his hair again.

'Look underneath the underneath' I smiled remembering something Yuuto had told me years ago when I was just starting my training as an assassin. I hadn't known it at the time that under all of Yuuto's teasing and harsh comments he was afraid because he liked me, even loved me and that scared him especially since everyone thought he was going to get married to Aria the most beautiful kunoichi in the village. Nori gave me a cryptic look and gave a slight purr.

'Well you have work soon and you're supposed to be organizing a trip to hokage mountain remember?' she said as I groaned remembering all of the permission slips and everything and phones calls to Tsunade and various people I had made. 'Have a good day I'll see you later to train' she winked as I groaned again and looked at the alarm clock. 6:06am. Bugger, I should be asleep as I dozed feeling the sunlight warm my face and arms that were resting on Kakashi's shoulders. It was a wonderful feeling as I felt Kakashi stir. I allowed myself to dip a bit lower in my dozing as before I knew the warmth of the sun was almost too hot. I opened my eyes to noticed Kakashi was gone and in his place was Kuro as I gave the dog a scratch and got out of bed.

I wondered where Kakashi was as I pushed chakra into my byakugan. The world became black and white as I looked through the floorboards and walls. It was quite disorientating looking through things as I saw Kakashi humming something in the Kitchen as I felt a blush over my cheeks. I could see right through his clothes at this distance as I quickly pushed the chakra away and blinked rapidly. Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad! Kuro gave me a weird look before panting and looking quite happy. I cursed. Damn pheromones as I heard Kakashi stop then resume a happier tempo to his humming. I wondered as I headed downstairs. He didn't notice me as I slipped into a chair in the kitchen. He was clad in only a pair of light blue boxers with dark green paw prints on them as he make something on the stove.

'Morning love' I said as he turned and gave me a smile. I was still getting accustomed to seeing Kakashi's face and as usual it always seemed to take breath away. I shook my head to dispel the thoughts as I leant against the table petting Inu who had jumped into my lap.

(Warning: Yaoi discussion ahead)

'So Iruka-kun and I were talking the other day' I mentioned as Kakashi kept humming.

'What did he say?' Kakashi asked. Hook.

'Oh he was just telling me about his date with Izumo-san for valentines. We had an interesting conversation and you were mentioned.' I said as I saw him tense up a little as I became irked I had just relaxed those damn muscles! Oh well more work for me.

'Yes I knew Iruka was gay. What were you guy's mentioning that brought up me?' he asked flipping something in the pan. Line.

'Oh well I wondered, you know, if you were bisexual because Iruka acted weirdly when I asked about that' I said as I saw Kakashi visibly freeze as Inu gave a slight whine. I knew I was putting stress on the dogs as Kakashi turned to look at me. He seemed surprised and almost upset. I just kept a straight face. I really was curious about the whole Iruka getting squeamish when I asked about Kakashi. The tall man moved and turned off the stove putting his hands on the counter.

'Yes I am bisexual' he said quietly as I grinned. I don't know why this information was so interesting, probably because I pulled another puzzle of the mysterious Kakashi Hatake together.

'Cool.' I said taking a gulp of orange juice I assumed was his from the table. He whipped around so fast all I saw was a blur before he was looking at me like I had just told him Pakkun was in love with Nori. I nearly died of laughter at the idea as I had more pressing matters as I looked at Kakashi, he was dumbfounded. 'are you alright?' I asked getting up to make sure he wouldn't pass out or something as I noticed he was shaking. 'Kashi-kun?' I asked as he just stared at me.

'You aren't disgusted?' he whispered as I blinked. Why would I be disgusted? So his door swung two ways, who cares he picked me and that was a compliment in itself. I fixed him with a level look.

'Why would I be disgusted?' I asked as now he looked really confused.

'Well…I've slept with guys and girls. Does that not bother you?' he asked as I shook my head.

'Not really no. You picked me and now I know if I were a guy you'd still pick me which is oddly comforting' I said as it was in a rather shocking kind of way. Maybe Katsu was right, maybe I am insane. As I smiled. 'What I'm curious about is if you and Iruka-kun once had something?' I asked as Kakashi blushed. I grinned he had! BWAHAHAHA!

'We dated for about a year before we broke it off because my missions were rather lengthy and erratic, plus Iruka wanted someone who was constantly around' Kakashi explained as I just kept grinning. Ah, it would be fun to make Iruka squirm for putting me in front of those little hooligans they call students. 'Yuki?' he asked as I turned to him.

(Warning: over we're good!)

'I'm sad that you broke it off but hey you have me now' I said as Kakashi laughed.

'You are the strangest person I have ever met or loved' he said as I grinned and jumped into his arms. I was in the middle of kissing him when I heard Pakkun bark at me. We broke off as Naruto burst into the kitchen. I was glad for my height as I stood in front of Kakashi my messy hair just creating a block to seeing Kakashi's face as the man scavenged for something.

'Morning Naruto-kun' I said as the blonde grinned at me. I heard a pop as I was suddenly surrounded by the teleportation clouds as I coughed. Where had that man gone to now.

'Hey YUKI-CHAN!' He yelled as I winced at the volume.

'Did someone give you crack?' I asked as he laughed nervously as I heard a roar that sounded a great deal like Sakura.

'Got to go!' he grinned as he disappeared creating about ten clones as they all split. About 30 seconds later the door slammed open again as I noticed Sakura was on the war path looking particularly disheveled with something that looked like whipped cream and strawberries in her hair as I grabbed Kakashi's forgotten spatula for protection.

'.HE?!' She roared as I brandished the spatula. She looked like she was going to kill me as Sasuke appeared in a very similar state but I noticed he was soaked to the skin and shivering as they glared at me.

'Tell us where he is or you're going to get it!' Sakura threatened as I pointed toward Hokage mountain as the duo took off looking like they were going to skin Naruto. I held onto the counter for support as Kakashi casually sauntered downstairs and blinked when he saw me.

'Are you alright?' he asked as I shook my head.

'How did you deal with them as genin?' I asked as he laughed.

'Patience and Gai-san' he said as I had thoughts of Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto in green spandex and orange leg warmers doing Gai's stupid pose. I burst out laughing as Kakashi smiled and wrapped me in another warm hug. I never noticed just how lean Kakashi was as I poked his side.

'You're so skinny' I teased as he laughed.

'Yea my sensei told me that when I was a kid and tried to feed me junk food to gain weight. It never worked though' he said as I was suddenly insanely jealous. He kissed my neck as I pouted.

'All I do is look at food and I gain weight. I've gained about 30 pounds since I got out of the hospital' I said looking down at myself. I was skinny from the torture and I hadn't been healthy but I had gained even more weight because I hadn't been training. Kakashi gave a throaty chuckle that resonated through my chest and his hands dropped to my hips.

'I think you're stunning' he said nibbling on my ear as I giggled and ducked. He grinned at me as I played with the studs in my ears. I had bought barbells so they couldn't be ripped out as Kakashi held one deftly between his teeth grinning at me. Crafty ninja. I took the little accessory and put it back in my ear as he sighed and gave my neck another kiss before letting me go.

'pancakes?' he asked as I happily accepted. Kakashi's pancakes were heaven. I had never had pancakes as awesome as these as I scarfed down three at once. Kakashi laughed at me as I glared at him and had another.

'Hey do you want to train with me tonight after supper?' I asked as Kakashi gave me a raised eyebrow. I shrugged 'I just thought since I'm physically better that I should start training especially in light of some… recent events' I trailed off as Kakashi nodded eating his own pancakes at a more sedate pace than I was as I glanced at the clock and jumped.

'IM LATE!' I screamed running upstairs and into the shower before popping into my room to grab my clothes and books and popping to the academy. I'm sure I scared all of the students as I popped into the room just as the bell went.

'Hey sorry got distracted!' I apologized as Iruka raised and eyebrow in an insinuating fashion as I shot him down with a smug look. He laughed as he started the lesson about channeling chakra and got them to work on worksheets that I knew I would be grading later.

I decided to take a vacant seat and actually listen to the lesson as I actually learnt a few things I had forgotten about chakra and how it can be manipulated. I was getting slack from having the byakugan-sharingan talent as I looked out the window. From my seat I had a clear view of the school yard. No wonder Kouga enjoyed sitting here. He was out with the flu as it was February and flu season was upon us.

Halfway through Iruka's lesson I zoned out and started staring out the window. Movement caught my eye as for fun I activated the byakugan. The classroom burst into colour and I could see the students behind me as clear as day as they wrote whatever Iruka was teaching them. I focused on the movement I had seen in the tree. I could see a chakra system as I focused closer. A familiar shock of silver hair, orange book, lounging on a branch close enough to hear Iruka's lesson.

'Yuki-sensei can you explain to the class how to move chakra through your body?' he asked as I let the jutsu drop and looked back at the school teacher blinking. I felt like I was back in the academy as I stood from my desk and walked to the front of the room. Iruka gave me a smile. 'I'll explain you just do as I say and tell me how you're doing it' he said as I nodded, simple enough. But trying to feel chakra was tricky especially if you're tipsy. Chakra was energy and it felt warm and almost tingly when you moved it around or focused it and first starting out even trying to get it was difficult because it felt kind of like trying to grab a handful of water and move it when you were gaining control of chakra. But most of these kids knew the basics of how to find chakra within themselves.

'Alright Yuki-sensei please pull the chakra into your right arm' I did as I was told. There was nothing visibly done to my arm as the kids looked rather unimpressed. 'now chakra when put into an extremity can be used for different things like strength, endurance, or a jutsu.' He explained. 'Yuki-sensei has put the chakra into her right arm. Now if she wanted she can specifically use it for strength' he said as he handed me a fist sized rock. He wanted me to crush it. Wonderful. He handed me the rock as I crushed it. The kids thought that was utterly cool. I felt rather like a guinea pig running on a wheel for shits and giggles as Iruka made me do other things like walk on the ceiling to which I was called spider-girl, move extremely fast from one end to another, and even yes walk on water. The kids were totally impressed as Iruka wanted me to show them my wacky version of the sharingan and byakugan. I sighed and nodded.

'It's really hard for me to just use one or the other usually they're combined for me and I can focus my chakra enough along with hand seals to allow my chakra to be concentrated in a way that I can use the individual aspects of each of the bloodline limits. The only reason I can do this was when I was a genin and discovered I had these talents my sensei drilled me for long hard hours perfecting and making me discover how to do this. It requires steady chakra control and attention but once it is learnt its second nature to use' I explained as Iruka and the children nodded.

I pushed the chakra into my eyes as I heard a few gasps. When I used my eyes they looked incredibly ugly with veins bulging at the sides of my eyes and the iris going a dark purple so the sickles of my mangekyou sharingan stood out.

The kids weren't sure to be afraid or completely impressed as I focused and looked through the wall to my left to see Kakashi still reading his book as I noticed his chakra was being halted in various places because of blocked chakra points. Other places it was sluggish as the ghostly blue substance moved slowly around him.

'Okay can anyone see anything in the pine tree?' I asked as a bunch of students looked.

'No, there's no one in the tree!' a couple of kids shouted as I saw Kakashi look up at the window. I didn't have to turn to see Iruka smiling like an idiot as I did on reflex.

'Should I call him in?' I asked as Iruka nodded it was almost lunch anyway. I walked over to Iruka's desk as a couple of the kids strained to see outside as I smiled as I knew he could see me near the window. I fixed my eyes on his hiding spot seeing through the pine foliage easily as he gave me a warm smile.

'Who's in the tree!?' Nobu demanded getting irritated as I laughed.

'Kaka-kun can you come up here please?' I asked as there was a rustle before the tall jounin was crouched on the windowsill. He raised a hand on greeting to the kids as they fell silent.

'It's Kakashi-sama!' I heard Momo gasp as she went down in a dead faint. Luckily Kiko caught her as a few other boys ran to help.

'Now, now Sama is so formal call me Kakashi-sensei. I have a feeling I'll probably be one of your teachers in the future' he muttered as I covered a laugh. I hope he got Momo because she definitely was a fan of the legendary copy ninja. Th bell went as I went to check on Momo. She was coming around as I brought her to the front of the class to sit and drink some juice as Kakashi crossed the room and produced a familiar little red bento box.

'You left without anything to eat.' He said as Kiko gave a little giggle. I turned to the duo that was still in the room as they smiled.

'Do you want to eat lunch with us?' Kiko asked as Momo blushed. I smiled and looked at Kakashi, he gave me a lazy stare as I grinned.

'Sure Kiko-chan do you want to eat outside seeing as it is sunny and the sakura trees are starting to bloom' I asked as the two girls agreed and ran to get the bento lunches. The classroom was empty as Kakashi caught me for a short kiss. It was nice having him drop in as I gave him a hug and relaxed inhaling his wonderful spicy masculine scent that was mixed with pine and outdoor air as I heard footsteps on the floor. I detached myself and turned as Kiko and Momo stood both with pink bento boxes with bunnies over them.

Kakashi followed behind in his usual slouch as I was glad he didn't read Icha Icha in he halls otherwise I'd have to smack him in front of the kids and that could get embarrassing. We marched ourselves outside to sit under the big pines that offered the only dry area to sit under in this weather as Kakashi leant against the tree and pulled me down to sit in between his legs using his chest as a backrest. The girls giggled before taking a seat themselves and unpacking their lunches. Momo's had the face of a bunny in it as I smiled remembering Kakashi's bento when I had been in the hospital as Kiko opened hers to reveal hello kitty staring back at me. I laughed as the girls explained their love for both of the characters.

I laughed and agreed with them as I felt Kakashi start rubbing my shoulders hitting pressure points that nearly had me moaning as I focused on what the girls were saying. Kakashi's hands I swore were magic as I opened my lunch to see a happy puppy face staring back at me.

'What Yuki-sensei?' Kiko asked as Momo jumped up to look.

'Kashi-kun made a cute face of his puppy Pakkun for me' I explained as they both cooed over the little food puppy. I glanced back at Kakashi as he gave me a warm eye smile before seemingly zoning out again.

'The old lady was thinking of making you a genin teacher like me if you were up to it' Kakashi muttered lazily as Kiko and Momo's eyes lit up.

'DO IT YUKI-SENSEI!' they both yelled excitement welling within them as I laughed and waved a hand at them. I had consumed half of my food with a speed jutsu as they blinked noticing half of my food was gone.

'No, no after doing this I'm going back to missions' I said and maybe traveling again my feet are getting itchy from staying in one place for so long I thought before eating the rest of my lunch before the kids would notice. That was the nice thing about ninja they always had a pattern ingrained in them of how they looked around. Always Front, back. Left, right up, down and repeat. So it was easy to know when to eat so they wouldn't notice.

Kakashi had given up his ministrations on my neck as I felt a chakra flare approaching. Momo and Kiko didn't notice until Shikamaru ran up panting completely out of breath like he had just run clear across Konoha.

'What's up Nara-kun?' Kakashi asked as the two girls nearly died of happiness when Kakashi spoke.

'He's so awesome!' Kiko giggled as Momo nodded. How old were these girls like 12 -13? I shook my head as Shikamaru stood up as the two girls looked between the showed ninja to the copy ninja giggling to themselves. Both men looked at me rather confused as I sighed.

'Girls stop giggling they both have girlfriends their own age' I said as I heard a sigh of what sounded like disappointment as I looked at them.

'But Kakashi-sama's OLD why would we like him?' Kiko asked as I deadpanned. Shikamaru gave a breathy laugh as Kiko and Momo giggled again. Even Kakashi laughed as I felt him put a gloved hand on my shoulder.

'Hey, 28 is not OLD' I stated as Kiko rolled her eyes.

'Yes it is! Shikamaru-san is only 18!' they both giggled at that as I sighed and felt like bashing my head off of the tree behind me as Shikamaru looked extremely uncomfortable. Maybe that was why most student teachers got out of it early because of hormone ridden teens starting to train. I shuddered at the thought of dealing genin teens, so many problems!

'Anyway Nara-kun what did you want?' Kakashi asked as I looked up at the teen.

'Asuma-sensei just sent me Kurenai-sensei has gone into labour' he said as I jumped to my feet.

'She's three weeks early thought!' I cried as the students jumped frightened by my sudden movement. Shikamaru nodded as Kakashi stood lazily as I flicked between the two. 'That's BAD you TOOLS!' I snapped as they both didn't seem to know how bad that could be.

'Asuma-sensei said that Kurenai-sensei wanted you, Anko-senpai, Kakashi-sensei, and Sakura-chan there at the hospital. You were the last people I had to find, you're so troublesome' he muttered as I sighed as Kakashi slouched looking like he might take a nap where he was standing as I bounced on my feet. Kurenai wanted me there, but I really did NOT want to watch some baby being born but I needed to be there. Kurenai was one of my only female friends and it seemed all of the kunoichi here were fiercely protective of the others as I decided I HAD to go.

'Tell Iruka-sensei that I had to go to the hospital because of a baby being born ok Kiko-chan?' I asked as the girls nodded. I grabbed Kakashi and Shikamaru's hands and started running dragging the two men along behind me.

Sorry for the wait!! I've been stuck and have had to reevaluate my entire plot line. Gr.. irritating so I hope you continue to read! -demonica


	24. The twins and plots

'We're not kids Yuki-chan we can keep up' Kakashi teased as I gave him an irritated look. He fell silent as I left them go and kept moving. All three of us entered the hospital and were greeted by an anxious looking Hinata and Shizune, who was the hokage's aid as they grabbed us and pulled us up eight floors to where I could hear some vicious screaming and threats echoing down the hall. That would be Kurenai. We were all told to wait in a little boring room as I noticed Ino, Sakura, and Tsunade were missing from the girls. I assumed they were helping with the birth as Hinata, TenTen and Temari sat all beside on another. Amazingly Gai was here and immediately struck up a rather one sided conversation with the tall man.

'Kakashi are you not excited that a new bloom of youth is about to come into our world?!' he said pointed at the silver haired man who began reading his usual orange book as I felt my eye twitch. Man today just wasn't happening for me was it?

'Yes, interesting…' he said as Gai looked extremely anguished.

'Such a cool and Hip response! How are you so with it all the time Kakashi?!' Gai said flashing his white teeth as I was momentarily blinded and groped randomly for a chair. Kakashi look my hand gently and lowered it so I could touch the smooth wood of one of the waiting chairs.

'Gai-sensei could you not blind my girlfriend with your shockingly white teeth?' Kakashi asked calmly as the entire room went silent. My vision came back as two things clicked. One all of the girls were staring at me with enormous grins as did Gai and Shikamaru.

'The great Kakashi has a girlfriend! Alas he has finally come to recognize his full potential of youth with darling Yuki-chan as perfect as a lotus blossom!' he exclaimed as Shikamaru snickered.

'Oh can it Gai-kun' Anko muttered coming into the room and flopping into a chair. I looked to see the girls still grinning at me like idiots as Temari gave me a look that said I-will-know-EVERYTHING-very-soon-whether-you-like-it-or-not. I was always afraid of that look… it always seemed to end badly for me as Gai sighed and flopped into the chair beside me.

He and Kakashi had shared a grin I had noticed at the mention of me. Despite their silly little rivalry Gai and Kakashi were pretty tight as friends. The time passed as I sighed giving up sitting in the terribly hard hospital chairs and vying for the floor.

'Why are you sitting down there do you know how many germs are on that floor and how dirty it is?' I heard Ino pipe up as she rounded the corner looking distinctly tired.

'uh I'm a ninja I sleep under rocks and in mud holes on missions this is nothing and my butt was being tortured by the chair' I said as a few people in the room snickered. I glanced to see Kakashi had managed the same boneless oozing position he always seemed to accomplish with hi book propped over his eyes as he took a nap. I suddenly wished the sandals he always wore had laces as I fiddled and made a paper shuriken from a magazine. At least I could have some fun with this.

The time passed slowly as at one point there was commotion but it was settled quite quickly with a nurse running with a needle. That was always safe. Okay kids instead of scissors lets run with needles! I laughed at the mental thought as my shuriken arm was complete. First was Kakashi I sized up the angle I wanted the shuriken to bounce off the wall as I tossed the object sharply. It ricocheted with a muffled click as it hit Kakashi's masked nose as the jounin jumped and jerked his head up looking around rather startled as his book fell onto my head. It was open as I looked like I had hat on as he looked around the room.

'Nice nap Kakashi-senpai?' Anko snickered as the others in the room also giggled at the jounin's reaction.

'Yes it was quite nice thanks' he said as Anko gave him an annoyed look. I grinned Kakashi always had a comeback even if it was just a pleasant one. He loved harassing Anko as much as she did him it seemed. I felt Kakashi take his book back from my head as he leant down to my ear.

'we'll deal with this when we get home' he whispered rather huskily as I raised an eyebrow at Temari's wondering glance. She gave me a grin and leant back as Hinata was flipping idly through a magazine.

I took my next victim Shikamaru as I bounced the shuriken at an odd angle and ended up hitting him in the ear instead of nose as the teen jumped and looked at the little paper weapon as he shrugged and went back to staring out the window completely bored.

I picked my next victim as I decided Hinata was distracted enough. Temari had been following me, she knew this little trick. I had done this with her enough when she was completely bored as a small child it was actually really good training for leaning about different angles of attack.

I was just about to toss it when Sakura and Ino came into the room.

'It's twins. A boy and a girl' they announced as I felt a wave of warmth wash through me. No wonder she had been so huge she had twins I smiled as Shino, Kiba, and Hinata laughed. Ino looked relieved as did Shikamaru and Chouji and the others were just grinning.

Asuma came out looked extremely tired and I noticed his hand was splinted. I guess Kurenai didn't know her own strength as he smiled at all of them.

'You can see her now. Team eight and nine can go' Tsunade said as team 8 hurried to see their sensei. I smiled and leant back against Kakashi's knees. It felt good knowing at everything had gone alright and Kurenai was fine as were the twins. I felt Kakashi's hands land on my shoulders and start rubbing small soothing circles as I noticed Anko looked extremely jealous as Asuma came over and distracted her with a huge grin on his face as he looked at Kakashi and I.

Asuma knew, everyone knew now, Kakashi had admitted that I was his girlfriend as I leant back against his knees taking full advantage of the backrest. Even though Kakashi was so skinny he was built. It was crazy. I waited as Hinata came back blushing furiously as did a few other teens as I gave them a warm smile. I was glad that everything had turned out so well as Kakashi, myself, Gai and Anko were allowed to go see her. I followed Sakura who looked reenergized as I assumed she had taken a soldier pill to keep up with all of the work here at the hospital as she showed us to an ordinary hospital room. Inside Kurenai was lying looking particularly disheveled holding two babies. Both had fierce shocks of black hair as I smiled at my friend.

'Hey guys' she muttered with a huge grin across her face. I mimicked her as I crossed the room to stand beside her. One of them opened their eyes two show two mist matched eyes. One a dark navy blue on the right and one red exactly like their mothers as a little yawn split the babies face.

'They're cute' Anko smiled as Kurenai thanked her.

'What are their names?' Kakashi asked slouching by a wall. I could tell that he was extremely happy for Kurenai even if he didn't show it. I think she knew it too as she shifted the twins.

'The boy is named Akio and the girl is named Saki' she said as my heart twisted painfully at the mention of Akio's name. I looked at the little boy baby as he opened his eyes to look at me. It was quite shocking really he had one dark navy blue eye that I knew would turn dark brown and one that was as red as his sisters. Their eyes were opposites of each other I noticed as I looked at the little boy. He gazed at me levelly then let out a cry and waved his tiny purple fists at me. Kurenai smiled and looked at me.

'Would you like to hold him?' she asked as I felt fear settle in my stomach. Why would Kurenai trust me with her baby? Katsu's words flitted into my mind. Insane. Murderer. I gently took the small bundle from Kurenai as the little boy opened his eyes and stared at me. It was weird looking at this baby as his face split in a toothless grin and he grabbed for my hair. I jumped not expecting the sudden movement from the baby as Anko laughed at me. I gave her a glare as she shook her head. The baby had yet to relinquish my hair as I smiled at the little boy.

'Akio-kun' I muttered as I saw Kakashi shift on the wall. He knew about Akio from my memories that he had tapped into as I balanced the baby's head and gently pulled his fist off of my hair. At that moment I vowed that as long as I drew breath I would help the twins as much as I could. Kakashi put a hand on my shoulder as I smiled up at him. He gave me an eye crinkling smile as his eyebrow nearly disappeared into the rest of his silver hair. I handed the little baby back to Kurenai as she passed me Saki and Akio to Anko who looked insanely confused at what she should do with the little bundle. Saki stared at me and Kakashi as huge grin split her face and she began blowing bubbles with her spit. Babies really were disgusting as I played with her curly little fluff of hair. I could feel Kakashi watching me as I danced my fingers over her powdery skin.

'That is so blessed a child like a new blossom in the world lovingly playing with a beautiful lotus like Yuki-san!' Gai admonished as we all sighed but ignored the man as Anko pulled Gai's attention away from me and the baby to Akio that she was holding as the tiny fist grabbed Gai's finger. I brought my attention back to Saki as she flailed a little bit.

'They like you a lot Yuki-chan' Kurenai said as Anko did something and Akio started wailing. He was quickly passed back to Kurenai where he stopped crying but started fussing instead. Apparently Saki knew her brothers distress and started to get upset as well as I gently rocked her; a few strands of my hair tickling her nose as she yawned and closed her eyes. I breathed a sigh of relief, crisis averted, as everyone was staring at me.

'What?' I looked at everyone. 'I hate when babies cry it gives me a headache' I said and it wasn't a lie. Something about the decibel they could cry at was impressive and painful enough to give me splitting migraines more so than the academy kids did.

I gave Saki back to Kurenai as Kakashi and I took our leave.

'Kakashi-kun can I talk to you alone?' Kurenai asked giving me a gentle smile. He nodded as I headed back to the waiting room with Gai and Anko. We passed Asuma in the hall as I noticed just about everyone else had left except for Sakura who was talking on a cell phone as he beeper went off. Tsunade had disappeared and Ino was looking at her sensei's hand healing the worst of the fractures.

'Where's Kakashi-sensei?' Asuma asked as we entered.

'Kurenai-chan wanted to talk with him' Anko answered as she pushed Gai out the door. 'Congrats Asuma-kun!' she called pushing the green beast out the door to give us some peace.

I sighed and sat down on the floor in front of Asuma. There was no way I was suffering in those chairs as he smiled at me.

'Two' he laughed as I couldn't help but smile. Asuma was so happy. He looked like he was on top of the world as Ino hissed at him to stay still.

'We were going to name Akio Yuuto but Kakashi said that would be a bad idea' Asuma muttered as I felt my blood freeze. Yuuto, I looked at the floor. Yes it would've been bad because I would've done everything in my power to protect that baby had I known. But there was something in Akio already that reminded me a bit of my old friend. Maybe I was crazy, or just desperate but it was there.

'Yuki-chan?' Asuma asked as I got to my feet.

'I have to… go. I'm missing the shuriken lesson for today and tomorrow were teaching them to throw while running so it's an important lesson' I lied and just about ran from the room ignoring Asuma calling my name. It was hard knowing two of my best friends had nearly named their child after my deceased lover. So hard. I felt tears come to my eyes as I felt the familiar pain well up in my chest. I tired so hard to slam it back down. Tried so incredibly hard but this time I saw Akio's face mixed in with the memories I had of my Akio. Then Yuuto came as I tripped and fell face first into the dirt. I felt the miniscule scratches along my palms and the burn on my knees as I didn't bother to get up.

Yuuto. Akio. I tried so hard to be strong for them. To move on and try to be happy but the pain was still there as fresh as it had been while I had watched them be cut down. Dammit I couldn't cry, I wanted to so badly as I lay there in the dirt. I laughed bitterly how ironic that I was lying in the dirt when I felt like I should be in it. Slowly I sat up and got to my feet that's when I noticed I was at the memorial.

My feet had taken me here subconsciously as I felt a chakra flare coming. I really did not want to deal with people right now as I jumped into the trees and extinguished any flares. A few seconds later Kakashi landed in the clearing and looked around. He stopped where I had been lying and moved the dirt gently with his fingers noticing the way it had been disturbed. Kakashi was an exceptional ninja, he had senses and training that I had never had as he sighed and ran a hand over his face.

'Dammit, I just missed her' he cursed sighing and walking over to the memorial. I noticed the little glass sculpture of ice was still there a mimic of the four of us grinning like fools as it made me feel slightly better.

'Obito, why is it that I never help the people I love the most? I always seem to fuck it up.' He sighed, he was talking to himself, no not himself, the memorial to Obito as the boy's face flashed through my minds eye. I sighed, maybe this was how Kakashi detoxified himself. 'Asuma and Kurenai cant seem to understand how much those names hurt Yukiko. They wouldn't listen. I'm just glad they didn't stay with Yuuto. Yukiko would be devastated, what am I talking about she probably already is. Asuma had to open his trap and tell her.' He pulled off his forehead protector as I noticed his sharingan was crying.

'I want to help her Obito. She went through exactly what I have but she cannot seem to let go even a little. It still cuts her deeply to hear his name or see his face in her dreams and I'm powerless. All I want to see is her amazing smile and eyes when she's happy. Obito, I want Yukiko to be happy but I'm having trouble finding a way.' He looked at the monument for a while just standing completely still as there was a clap of thunder. It had become increasingly humid as a warm front had moved in over the cold front and had created an impressive set of thunderheads.

I waited and watched for awhile pulling my knees to my chest. Kakashi loved me that much that he wanted to take away any of my suffering. Obito may have been dead but I wasn't and I hated seeing Kakashi upset more than anything else. He had suffered enough as I stood and stepped from branch to branch until I was at the edge of the clearing. Kakashi could feel me coming as I stood holding into a tree trunk for support as he looked up to see me.

His face lit up as I gave him a smile. He really was the light of my life as I jumped down. He caught me and swung me around as I grinned. He showered my face with kisses as I laughed and caught his lips kissing him soundly as we both broke apart panting.

'Listen, I'm sorry for that… incident back at the hospital' he stared as I silenced him with another kiss.

'It's alright. I heard you talking to Obito-san' I said as Kakashi looked surprised then saddened as I gave him a hug. 'Don't worry about it. I think what you talk about with Obito-san is a great way to get things off your chest and out in the open. I should've done it years ago' I said with a small smile as Kakashi looked rather anguished.

'You shouldn't suffer so much Yuki-chan' he whispered as I looked up into his mismatched eyes. The sharingan was crying again as his chocolate eye looked concerned and sad. I pulled him down to my level and looked him straight in his mismatched eyes.

'I don't. I have you and that is all I want. I don't suffer when I'm with you I suffer around others. You have no Idea how much I love you' I said as he froze before his lips crashed down onto my with such passion my knees buckled. I would've fallen if Kakashi's hands hadn't been holding my hip and neck as our tongues battled each other and our hands wandered. Kakashi didn't have to say he loved me more than life itself. That much was evident from his actions. I always knew Kakashi was a man of few words and many actions as he moved from my mouth to my neck as he sucked on a pressure point through the soft fabric of my mask. The sensation was crazy as I groaned and melted into him sliding my hands over his shoulders as I felt the muscles respond to my caresses as Kakashi bit a little harder. It didn't hurt as I felt one of his oddly pointed canines tear a bit of the fabric on my neck as he moved nipping my ear lobe as I giggled and leant forward as I could feel his heart hammering in his chest almost to match mine.

I kissed the hollow of his throat as I heard him moan as I kissed up the side of his neck. I knew I was driving him crazy as his hands fisted in my hair not wanting me to stop as I let my hands wander over his arms and down his sides as I felt him shiver under my touch. It was an empowering feeling as I scraped my teeth lightly over his collar bone and he went wild as his lips crashed down on mine again as I felt my back hit the rough bark of the tree I had been standing in. We pulled apart as I felt a chakra flare approaching and by the feel I knew it was Sasuke as I pushed Kakashi off of me. He looked drugged and rather flushed as I hurriedly straightened our clothing.

'Yuki?' Kakashi breathed as I tossed him into the near by bushes as I heard a dull thump and a curse as Sasuke landed in the clearing. I gave my baby brother a grin as he walked over to me.

'Was Kakashi-sensei just here?' He asked as I nodded. Sasuke knew something was up and I cursed our family being so astute as there was a pop and Nori appeared.

'We have to train. Now.' She said grabbing the cuff of my uniform in her teeth and pulling me away from the memorial toward the training grounds as I looked back to see Sasuke hunting around in the bushes where I had thrown Kakashi as he turned up empty handed. Luckily enough Kakashi had managed to get it together enough to meet us at the training ground as he gave us a cheerful 'yo'.

Training with Nori was unreal. She taught me about eight different maneuvers for us to learn together. One was a dual attack where I would lure my opponent (Kakashi) into a secluded area pretending to be hurt where she attack and finished him off which to my amusement meant my tall silver haired savior getting a long wet lick from Nori that made his hair stand even more on end as he blinked rather comically at his appearance. Another maneuver was one where we both attacked directly making Kakashi split his attention so that I could get behind him and slapped him across his rear with the flat side of Akane. He wasn't too impressed by that as we moved on. By the end of the training Kakashi had been humiliated, his hair was still standing on end and I was sore and panting as Kakashi looked none the worse for wear except his uniform had been torn in a few places and scuffed in others as He enveloped me in a warm hug.

'You stink' I scrunched up my nose at the smell of his body odour as he grinned and shoved my face in his armpit. I grabbed his side and poked him hard as we broke apart laughing. Nori had vanished after training as Kakashi wrapped an arm around my waist as we headed back home for showers and to call and see how Kurenai was doing with the twins as we arrived home to chaos.

Naruto and Sasuke were having a massive battle in the front yard literally destroying everything as a Koi landed on my head after a rather large water jutsu from Sasuke was deflected by a wind jutsu from Naruto. Sakura was screaming at them from the far side of the compound as they continued to battle it out.

'Naruto! Sasuke STOP!' I snapped as they ignored me. I was getting quite angry as Kakashi gently lifted the dead fish from my head. 'What are they fighting about?' I asked as Kakashi shrugged.

'It could be anything from Sasuke saying something offending to Naruto or Naruto took Sasuke's can of cola. They're not picky when it comes to fighting any excuse will do.' He explained as I decided to end it I gathered my chakra into my feet pulling all of the water from the koi pond toward the surface as it looked like I was walking on silver. I felt each of the boys feet touch my chakra charged water as I instantly froze it in turn freezing both boys in place.

'WHAT THE HELL?!' Naruto roared as Sasuke looked frustrated before I clubbed them both of the heads for their stupidity.

'Why did you destroy my front yard?' I snapped as the boys glared at each other just out of arms reach as Sakura and Kakashi jogged over to where I had both boys pinned. They just glared at one another from across the yard as I stood glaring between the two of them as Naruto was the first to speak.

'You stupid Sasuke-bastard! You're lying!' Naruto snapped as I sighed as Sasuke gave the younger man a venomous look.

'What is this about?' I hissed as both teens turned to look at me. I was pissed firstly because they had destroyed MY garden as well as various portions of the boardwalk to the unused hot springs. The entire front yard was chaos as Sakura ran over and tapped my shoulder. 'What?!' I snapped as the pink haired girl flinched under my gaze.

'They were fighting over the news of you getting a genin team instead of teaching at the academy. Plus Sasuke-kun just informed Naruto-kun that they both have to take the chounin exams this year' Sakura mentioned as both boys looked at me.

'He's lying isn't he!' Naruto roared as I shrugged.

'I have no idea. I knew Hokage-sama was toying with the idea of giving my own genin team after the academy exams next week.' I paled realizing how close the exams were. So that had been why they were learning all of those jutsu and practicing so much. The thought made me laugh as I hadn't realized how time had passed.

'Well, maybe I will take on a genin team. Kashi-kun are you teaching again this year?' I asked as the tall man looked at me from where he was reading his smut and looked at me.

'No I'm not teaching this year' he said quietly as everyone just stared at him.

'But why not Kakashi-sensei?' Naruto asked as I released the jutsu and they both staggered as the ice melted away. Kakashi shrugged.

'I'm too old to be dealing with 12 year olds that hate me' he muttered going back to his book as I knew he had hit a nerve within all of them as they flinched. I assumed they hadn't been very nice to their sensei in the past as I sighed.

'Kashi-kun is 28 you know the average life expectancy for a ninja is 30. I don't blame him for not wanting look after a set of terrors but I have no control what the Hokage wants me to do. Remember I am a foreign ninja and she has complete power over me' I reminded them as Sasuke took on his icy annoyed stance and Naruto pouted.

'So you don't have as many rights as we do?' Naruto asked as I nodded.

'I cannot be trusted remember even though this is the first village where the people have actually tried to get to know me. But then again I'm usually only in a village for about 3 months then I'm gone again' I said with a soft smile as Sakura sighed.

'I don't think I could do that moving every few months' she muttered as I nodded. It was tiring but I enjoyed it as I felt a familiar arm wrap around my waist. I smiled as we headed inside. I went straight to my room and pulled out a set of comfy clothing. Not that the uniform wasn't comfy but it was nothing compaired to baggy jeans and an old snow sweater as I realized this was another article of Yuuto's clothing as I realized I now owned all of his clothing as I pulled on the baggy jeans a beaten old T and the royal blue sweater with the village symbol across the back as the sweater tumbled down to my thighs and I had to turn the cuffs up twice so I could see my hands. I headed for the shower as I noticed Sasuke was actually in the bathroom staring at himself in the mirror with his sharingan on.

'Are you alright Nii-chan?' I asked as he flicked his eyes over to meet mine. I resisted the urge to turn mine on as he sighed and leant his head against the cold glass.

'Why did my brother do what he did Onee-chan?' Sasuke asked quietlystaring at the tap unmoving as I gave him a sad smile. Itachi had fueled hate in Sasuke because Itachi knew that if he did it Sasuke could have his revenge. Revenge for something that even Itachi didn't want to do but had to otherwise a rebellion would've risen up and usurped the hokage in favour for the Uchiha clan. I had had this explained to me a few times in different ways by different people over the years as I sat on the out crop of the tub as he stayed frozen where he was.

'Sasuke-kun you have to realize that Itachi's actions were not his own. You have no right to forgive him for what he did but going after our brother is just going to get you killed. Sasuke, he loved you too much to kill you, your family…it wasn't healthy. I mean they kept me a secret, tried to kill me, the only reason I wasn't was because Kakashi's father couldn't kill an innocent baby.' I said quietly as Sasuke whipped around fury whirling in the sharingan.

'Then why did he make me suffer?!' he nearly screamed as I felt for him I really did.

'because, Itachi with all his heart hated himself for doing that to you and by making you hate him gave you a reason to live and keep going instead of wallowing and giving up. He gave you the determination to become a great ninja sadly becoming a ninja means suffering a great deal. I have yet to meet a ninja who hasn't suffered some type of loss.' I said as Sasuke looked quite angry and stared back at himself in the mirror.

'but why did he kill them all?' he muttered as I rocked on the tub. I was sitting on the fence on this one, should I tell him, should I not.

'Tell him' I heard a whisper from my right as I turned my head to see a flash of grey before there was nothing at the window. Kakashi. Hm… I knew Kakashi had a problem with Sasuke but I hated seeing the poor boy suffer so much.

'Sasuke-kun' I called as he looked up at me. I smiled and stood walking over to give him a hug. He tensed up at the contact before he relaxed and wrapped his arms around my waist and buried his face in my shoulder. He was still hurting like a child even though he was definitely a man. Children who became ninja were forced to grow up too soon especially those who were orphans.

'Sasuke, listen. Itachi killed your family because they were plotting to over throw the Hokage and usurp the lead position of the village by the force of the police. They needed to be stopped and since Itachi was the perfect candidate he was assigned the job' I whispered as Sasuke froze. I knew the news would've been a shock to him as I moved my hand from his shoulders to rub small circles on his back.

'They were… planning to usurp the Hokage's power?' he whispered rather breathless as I nodded. Suddenly he dead weighted as I caught him and staggered under the new weight. Damn he was heavy for someone so skinny as I sat on the floor with him in my lap. He seemed disorientated as I hit him lightly on the cheek.

'Sasuke, Sasuke, come on focus' I called as his eyes seemed to focus on my face. He blinked as sat up smacking me right in the chin and making my teeth jar together rather painfully.

'That means that everything I've known about our family has been a lie' he muttered. I could tell he was in shock as I rubbed my chin trying to dispel the pain.

'I'm not a lie' I said as he looked at me. He seemed to see me in a different light it seemed as a genuine smile broke out across his face. I blinked.

'Sasuke are you alright?' I asked as he laughed and laughed and laughed. Personally I had thought he had snapped as suddenly the laughter turned into sobs as we sat on the cold tile bathroom floor. I knew Sasuke was a mess. It seemed everyone in this town was from all of the physical, emotional, and mental attacks they had received over the years.

'Everything that I thought was true wasn't. That means that I was grieving for a family that didn't even want me or care about who got in the way. They just wanted power.' He laughed to himself as I sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair.

'No, your mother loved you more than life itself. That was one of the reasons Itachi saved you was for her. I think that is who he regrets killing the most was your mother because she tied to protect you' I said as Sasuke looked at me sharply.

'How do you know all of this?' he asked as I gave him a deadpanned look.

'Itachi-kun was my sensei. I've come to know him quite well. Do you know he hates pickles?' I said as Sasuke looked at me like I was the crazy one as we both burst out laughing. I gave my baby brother another hug as he readily accepted it. I kissed his forehead as he looked at me like I really was his full blooded sister as I smiled. He wrinkled his nose when he came close to me thought.

'You smell like Kakashi-sensei and sweat' he muttered standing as he pulled me to my feet. He gave me an amused look as I swatted him.

'No you dolt I haven't slept with him today we were training' I said as Sasuke just kept an eyebrow raised.

'You smell like Sakura-chan's strawberry perfume, did you sleep with her today?' I asked as I noticed a blush creep up on his cheeks. 'So you have.' I said as he was starting to turn crimson as I giggled and rolled my eyes.

'I'm getting a shower I suggest you go find Sakura-chan or Naruto-kun and start training for those exams ne?' I laughed at Sasuke annoyed face before he left the bathroom. I locked the door and made sure the damn window was locked and the curtains drawn before I had a nice long hot shower.

After I left my mask around my neck and sauntered downstairs. I didn't have any work because I had run out on Iruka to go see Kurenai at the hospital as I heard Sakura on the kitchen phone giggling and laughing at something Ino had said. By the gist of it Ino was still at the hospital with Kurenai and Sakura had to trade off shifts around 9 tonight. I really didn't know how those girls did it. I hated hospitals, I wouldn't work in one even if I was saving lives.

I flopped on the couch and started channel surfing as Kakashi sauntered into the house. He was wearing his mask as he sat on the couch beside me and pulled me against his chest as I continued flicking through channels. It seemed that my anxiety had passed with me over the torture as I sighed and relaxed. He started to rub my shoulders and lower back as he wrapped his legs over mine. It was weird as he hit a rather stiff spot on my back as he put his hands under my armpits and held my hips down with his legs as he pulled upward slowly.

My back popped audibly as Sakura looked over at us from the kitchen as warmth flooded through my back. I sighed and lay over Kakashi like a blanket. He laughed and ran a hand through my hair as the backdoor slid open and Naruto and Sasuke tottered in with their arms laden with groceries. I sighed and got up to help as Kakashi frowned and stole the remote flicking through the basic cable channels.

I passed the back door as there was a knock on the front door. I noticed Kakashi got up as I flicked my own mask up. There was an ANBU at the door as he gave a nod to Sasuke before he and Kakashi had a small discussion. I went back to the kitchen and helped put stuff away as Naruto tried to juggle the vegetable which ended up landing on his head as I caught the eggplant and tomatoes before they landed on Sasuke's head.

I was reaching up to put a box of cereal away when he cleared his throat.

'All of the jounin have been summoned by the Hokage.' Kakashi announced as I sighed. I knew the peace wouldn't last long.

'What is this about?' I asked as Kakashi shrugged lazily.

'Sound has collapsed after the death of Orochimaru. I think we're being sent in to re-establish a government system or something' he muttered as I blinked.

'But why would we go and re-establish another country that we weren't even friendly with in the beginning?' I asked as Kakashi shrugged.

'I'm not sure' he said as I sighed. This was confusing.

'Give me five minutes' I said and ran upstairs and quickly changed into my normal Rin uniform and met Kakashi at the door. Sakura and Sasuke were on the couch as Naruto was upstairs as we told them we'd be back soon.

I wondered what Tsunade wanted as we ran on the rooftops heading for Hokage tower. If sound had dissolved it meant huge problems for everyone. Rogue ninjas were dangerous. Even more so if there were entire towns under no control of a government that would be attacked without remorse by any ninja that felt like it. Great we were probably going to have to go and play police in a country that hated us.

But Orochimaru was back.

This was not going to be pretty.

'Yuki-chan did you hear anything I just said?' Kakashi asked as I looked over at him and gave a sheepish smile.

'No sorry, drifted off into my own little world' I apologized as he gave me an irritated look.

'I said that whatever the Hokage wants you to do. Just do it, no questions asked' he said as I glared at him.

'It's in my nature to ask why scarecrow. I don't have to follow your politics' I said as I saw him wince. It was harsh but I hated being pushed around, I jumped closer and grabbed his hand. 'Listen, I'm sorry but its just the way I am.' I said as he nodded and let go as we landed in front of Hokage tower.

We went up and entered the room as most of the other jounins turned to look at us. There were a few grins and snickers as Tsunade cleared her throat.

'Alright that's everyone. Now to the reason I called you all here.' She stood and looked out the large windows into the darkening night. 'Sound has collapsed.' She said as a ripple of muttering went through the crowd.

'But that means that Orochimaru is dead!' someone shouted as Tsunade whirled around.

'I wish that was the case. We have intelligence that Orochimaru is NOT dead from a very reliable source' she said staring straight at me as I gave a sharp but almost unnoticeable nod. 'Because of this development, I am sending various teams to make observations on how sound is progressing to get a new government. So far our intelligence tells us that there are three ninja villages that have all taken on various parts of sound as their own territory. Normal villagers are getting murdered in the crossfire between these villages. I want us to make sure that nothing develops that might lead to an attack on Konoha.' Her eyes bore into us as my mind started to fly putting pieces together.

There was something not quite right about what was going on in sound. I heard a few people shuffle beside me as Tsunade strode back and forth in front of her massive windows.

'If while you observe and attack on an innocent village and the enemy is not terribly strong then your orders are to remove the threat otherwise what we are doing is observing. We also need to gain information and track Orochimaru. This part of the missions will be dangerous because you are to capture as many sound jounin as possible and bring them back for interrogation of Orochimaru's plans or whereabouts.' She looked at each one of us. I realized how huge this was, we were watching over a fallen country and capturing people to determine the whereabouts of Orochimaru. I looked at Tsunade who suddenly looked years older. Orochimaru was once her teammate I felt incredibly sorry for her at that moment. It was like attacking someone you had grown up with even thought they had turned out to be horrible people you still knew the good they once had.

'You are dismissed. You shall receive further information later. Uchiha-san, Hatake-san I need to speak with you' she said as everyone turned to Kakashi and myself as I kept my face an icy mask as I strode through the retreating bodies as they stepped around me like a boulder in a river.

Eventually we were left standing in front of Tsunade as we both gave shallow bows. She seemed very tired as she threw a scroll at me. I caught it as I opened it and read the first few lines.

'You are being re-assigned. The genin exams are next week and we need jounin teachers. Iruka-san even volunteered you saying you would be a logical choice. Kakashi-san you will be training Naruto and Sasuke for the chounin exams in exactly 6 months they need a third partner to take the exam, who do you suggest?' she asked eyeing up Kakashi as the tall man sighed.

'who hasn't passed the chounin exam in the genin 9?' Kakashi asked as Tsunade thought.

'All of them except for Naruto and Sasuke.' She said as I sighed. This could be a problem.

'I could go. I haven't been registered here yet' I said as Tsunade looked at me like I was crazy.

'You want to take the chounin exam?' she asked.

'Well, no but if it comes to that. I'm sure I could pass easily.' I said as Tsunade shook her head.

'No you're already registered as an ANBU and elite jounin. You cannot participate but you may be asked to be a proctor. Kakashi-san I will find a genin from a neighboring village to join your squad since there are none that seem to be left without a team of 3.' She said as I put the scroll in my pocket. She looked at me as I waited and seemed to be sizing me up. 'Any questions?' she asked.

'Will you be calling me out on missions to sound?' I asked as Tsunade sighed.

'Yes, but only after you've been with your genin team for a few months, we don't have the numbers of jounin that we did in the past and ANBU can only handle high risk missions. So you will be called upon later on.' She said as I nodded. She dismissed us reminding me that I had to meet with my new team after the exams on Friday.

I shut the heavy oak door behind me and traced the edge of the scroll in my pocket. It was light but for some reason it felt like a death sentence. I wondered who I'd have as a genin team as Kakashi stole my hand away from the scroll.

'Don't worry about it, you have to come up with a first test though. May I suggest to you one that I find effective?' he grinned as I listened. He explained the bell test to me as I grinned. It was perfect and evil at the same time as he produced two little silver bells out of his back pocket. They didn't seem like anything special as I slipped them into my kunai pouch. We passed Ichiraku ramen as I noticed Iruka was sitting by himself. I nudged Kakashi and pointed to the lonely school teacher as I sauntered in and flopped down beside him.

'Hey Iruka-kun!' I called startling the young man with a hug as Kakashi took a seat beside me more sedately. A pretty girl asked for my order as I had some vegetarian ramen and Kakashi ordered beef. I had a feeling I was paying again as Iruka swirled his own noodles.

'I heard you're being re-assigned' he muttered as I instantly knew why he was upset. Iruka didn't have much company and having me around was a nice fixture as I punched his shoulder lightly.

'Come on Iruka-kun, I might have been re-assigned but we can still hang out. I'll come by the academy and help teach some days and we can have dinner too!' I said as I accepted the bowl from the girl ignoring the weird look she gave me and Kakashi. Iruka seemed to brighten at this as I used a speed jutsu and stuffed the ramen into my mouth.

'I never see you train anymore Iruka' Kakashi muttered as I saw the brunette blush.

'I can't seem to find time' he said eating some more as I smiled. Iruka still had a crush on Kakashi, it was cute but it seemed that Kakashi was definitely over Iruka.

'Well Iruka-kun why don't you train with Nori and I?' and Kakashi, I didn't say as he seemed to brighten and finish his ramen. Kakashi didn't say anything as we were both already done our ramen.

'That sounds like a great plan. I haven't trained with anyone for a long time' he smiled as I laughed and grinned under my mask.

'Well I have to get those paper ready for the exams tomorrow. How is Kurenai-senpai?' Iruka asked as he paid for his meal.

'Good. She had twins, one boy and one girl. They're all really healthy and happy. So, are the exams tomorrow or the day after?' I asked as Iruka explained the genin exams to me. It seemed simple enough as I thought about Nobu and hoped to god he was practicing with Katsu. We parted ways as I paid for both mine and Kakashi's meals as I overheard our server squealing in the back to another girl about a festival coming up. Something about the springtime festival and the parade of shinobi as Kakashi stood.

I followed him out as I noticed there were posters that had gone up all over town about the festival as I turned on the sharingan to look at it. Kakashi caught my movements as I read about the festival. It was a celebration for spring and all of the shinobi of the village.

I grinned as Kakashi caught my hand. He usually wasn't one for public displays of affection but I noticed a rather large group of fan girls appear out of thin air as we calmly stepped through them.

'I see you took noticed of the festival fliers' he muttered as I smiled.

'Yes, its still a month away but I think it'd be fun to go. I've never been to a festival' I muttered as Kakashi looked at me amused.

'You've never been to a festival?' he asked as I shook my head blushing slightly. He laughed and threw his hand over my shoulder and pulled me in close. 'Well then I guess we have to go. Even though we have to show up for the walk of the shinobi, its tradition sadly' he ended rather bitterly as I looked up at him. Kakashi hated tradition, I knew that much as we stepped back into the house.

I didn't do much for the rest of the evening except read and re-read the scroll that Tsunade had given me. It didn't explain much other than I was getting a genin team the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow would be a long day as I drifted off to sleep in my own bed for once thinking of who I might get for a genin team.

Another chapter, just because I feel like I've been slacking. If anyone had plot ideas, I'd love to hear them –grins-


	25. Training and crimson clouds

I shut the heavy oak door behind me and traced the edge of the scroll in my pocket. It was light but for some reason it felt like a death sentence. I wondered who I'd have as a genin team as Kakashi stole my hand away from the scroll.

'Don't worry about it, you have to come up with a first test though. May I suggest to you one that I find effective?' he grinned as I listened. He explained the bell test to me as I grinned. It was perfect and evil at the same time as he produced two little silver bells out of his back pocket. They didn't seem like anything special as I slipped them into my kunai pouch. We passed Ichiraku ramen as I noticed Iruka was sitting by himself. I nudged Kakashi and pointed to the lonely school teacher as I sauntered in and flopped down beside him.

'Hey Iruka-kun!' I called startling the young man with a hug as Kakashi took a seat beside me more sedately. A pretty girl asked for my order as I had some vegetarian ramen and Kakashi ordered beef. I had a feeling I was paying again as Iruka swirled his own noodles.

'I heard you're being re-assigned' he muttered as I instantly knew why he was upset. Iruka didn't have much company and having me around was a nice fixture as I punched his shoulder lightly.

'Come on Iruka-kun, I might have been re-assigned but we can still hang out. I'll come by the academy and help teach some days and we can have dinner too!' I said as I accepted the bowl from the girl ignoring the weird look she gave me and Kakashi. Iruka seemed to brighten at this as I used a speed jutsu and stuffed the ramen into my mouth.

'I never see you train anymore Iruka' Kakashi muttered as I saw the brunette blush.

'I can't seem to find time' he said eating some more as I smiled. Iruka still had a crush on Kakashi, it was cute but it seemed that Kakashi was definitely over Iruka.

'Well Iruka-kun why don't you train with Nori and I?' and Kakashi, I didn't say as he seemed to brighten and finish his ramen. Kakashi didn't say anything as we were both already done our ramen.

'That sounds like a great plan. I haven't trained with anyone for a long time' he smiled as I laughed and grinned under my mask.

'Well I have to get those paper ready for the exams tomorrow. How is Kurenai-senpai?' Iruka asked as he paid for his meal.

'Good. She had twins, one boy and one girl. They're all really healthy and happy. So, are the exams tomorrow or the day after?' I asked as Iruka explained the genin exams to me. It seemed simple enough as I thought about Nobu and hoped to god he was practicing with Katsu. We parted ways as I paid for both mine and Kakashi's meals as I overheard our server squealing in the back to another girl about a festival coming up. Something about the springtime festival and the parade of shinobi as Kakashi stood.

I followed him out as I noticed there were posters that had gone up all over town about the festival as I turned on the sharingan to look at it. Kakashi caught my movements as I read about the festival. It was a celebration for spring and all of the shinobi of the village.

I grinned as Kakashi caught my hand. He usually wasn't one for public displays of affection but I noticed a rather large group of fan girls appear out of thin air as we calmly stepped through them.

'I see you took noticed of the festival fliers' he muttered as I smiled.

'Yes, its still a month away but I think it'd be fun to go. I've never been to a festival' I muttered as Kakashi looked at me amused.

'You've never been to a festival?' he asked as I shook my head blushing slightly. He laughed and threw his hand over my shoulder and pulled me in close. 'Well then I guess we have to go. Even though we have to show up for the walk of the shinobi, its tradition sadly' he ended rather bitterly as I looked up at him. Kakashi hated tradition, I knew that much as we stepped back into the house.

I didn't do much for the rest of the evening except read and re-read the scroll that Tsunade had given me. It didn't explain much other than I was getting a genin team the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow would be a long day as I drifted off to sleep in my own bed for once thinking of who I might get for a genin team.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

The next day at the academy sped by as did my training with Nori and Kakashi, although I ended up with a black eye and I was pretty sure cracked ribs from a flying kick from Kakashi that he apologized profusely for when I couldn't get up out of the dirt. It was painful training once again as I managed to thwart Kakashi a few times with my new but rather sloppy combos with Nori. Kakashi seemed impressed though as he had to call in Yasu a few times to block and counter.

Currently I was lying in a heap under a tree with Kakashi lying sprawled over a bush rubbing his chin from a vicious upper cut from me while I was rubbing my butt from him tripping me while he fell.

'This is dangerous' I panted as I didn't hear anything from Kakashi as Nori sauntered over, patches of dirt were mashed into her fur as she brushed her head against my outstretched hand.

'I'll say' Kakashi muttered as I heard the rustle of bushes before Nori flopped down beside me. I used a good amount of chakra in training today and I knew I was going to be as sore as hell later on as Kakashi flopped down beside me.

'Dammit, that kick hurt!' I moaned and pushed the last of my chakra into healing the tight fissures along the bone as I grit my teeth as the pain lashed up my side.

'Let Kakashi do it you're almost out of chakra' Nori commented as Kakashi looked confused at the big cat.

'I've never healed bones and wounds before' he mentioned as I stared at him.

'Not even a basic course?' I asked as he shook his head. I cursed and sat up feeling the worst of the damages done were healed enough so that I could have Sakura look at them later. Nori helped me to stand as ever muscle felt like it had been stretched like silly putty. I was going to be in immense pain tonight as Nori walked beside me the whole way home.

'Are you excited to get your genin team tomorrow?' Kakashi asked as I gave up walking and slid onto Nori as the duo picked up the pace a little.

'Not really, I mean, it would be nice to have Momo and Kiko but its rare that two girls are on a team let alone with a female teacher. We're quite a rarity it seems' I teased as Kakashi gave a chuckle.

'Well there aren't any kunoichi I've met quite like you. You're quite… original you could say.' I smiled at the compliment as Nori stayed silent and padded along. The streets were quiet as we walked and I listened to the bird song.

'WATCH OUT YUKI-SENSEI!' I heard the shout as I turned to see a lid of a trash can flying at my head. I immediately snapped backward like in the matrix as I heard a loud click from my back as I froze and slid off of Nori. I waited for the pain as none came but I didn't dare move as I heard sandals on the dirt street.

'Oh no! Yuki-sensei are you okay?!' I heard Nobu exclaim as Kakashi was checking me over.

'No, I clicked my back I think I popped a disk or something' I muttered as Kakashi gently rolled me over and felt along my back. He hit a few pressure points before stretching the muscles before deeming it alright for me to get up. I stood slowly as I noticed Nobu, Kiko, Momo, Kagome, Katsu, Riku, Sora, and a very sheepish looking Kouga with his puppy on his head.

'Alright, now who threw this?' Kakashi asked picking up the metal lid as no one dared say anything. I knew it was Kouga as I sighed.

'Kouga-kun I know it was you. You look incredibly guilty' I said softly as the boy's head shot up.

'You wont tell Kiba-kun will you?!' he exclaimed looking insanely nervous as I shook my head.

'No I wont tell the head family as long as you don't do this again. I could've been really hurt and you don't want one of your new genin team leaders getting hurt before I had the chance to go on missions with you now would you?' I said as they were all suddenly in awe of me.

'You're one of our teachers!' they gasped as I nodded. All of the kids broke out into grins as Momo gave Kakashi and I a blush.

'You all better head home and study because tomorrow is a big day' I reminded them as they all scurried off. Kakashi put and arm around my shoulders and kissed my cheek as I sighed and leant against him.

'You're good with kids.' He said quietly as I laughed.

'Only because I never was one' I said quietly as he squeezed my shoulder in sympathy. We had all grown up too fast it seemed I was an elite assassin by 12, that didn't leave much time to play or watch TV or even go out with friends. We were bred to be warriors I reflected as we passed under the Uchiha gate. The yard was peaceful back to its former non destroyed state as I had commanded Naruto and Sasuke to do after their little tussle. I forwent supper opting for a shower and some sleep. I seemed to love that combination as I nearly fell asleep in the nice warm soothing heat of my shower.

I managed to make it to my bed where I stripped to my black tank mask and boy cut underwear as I passed out rolled in blankets. I was too tired to even bother turning out the light as I let the waves of exhaustion was over me.

It was about six hours later I awoke as pain raced through my body. It was so bad that I couldn't even breathe really. I gasped as I heard someone quietly enter the room followed by Nori's soft padding.

'Yuki-chan are you alright?' Kakashi's voice was low and sounded almost sleepy as I gasped.

'Cant breathe very well, muscles have seized' I gasped as Kakashi moved closer to me. Gently he stretched and massaged the muscles in my chest running his hands down my sides as I activated the byakugan. I could see several points that were blocked as I massaged them myself to reopen the channels.

To anyone watching this would've been quite sexual if not for the fact that I was in extreme pain and Kakashi and I were dressed. Kakashi moved his hands expertly along my shoulder blades and gently moved my arms to stretch the tired muscles.

'Are you alright?' he asked after I un-blocked the last channel to my left side upper rib where I had been kicked did I feel better. Turned out the entire pain had been a block in chakra to that area and the rest of my body causing my chakra channels to nearly collapse because of the major block Kakashi's kick had caused I explained to him as I felt a gentle kiss.

'I'm sorry, I didn't know I had kicked you that hard' he apologized as I realized that him doing that after throwing me into a tree trunk had probably caused the mass damage. I breathed a slightly less painful sigh as I felt Kakashi gently stretching the muscles in my calf. He finished helping me stretch as he lay beside me and pulled me against his chest as I lay limp in complete exhaustion.

'How did you know that would work?' I asked as he gave a deep chuckle and ran his hand over my hip and back.

'When I was a kid I'd push myself like that training. I was too proud to ask for help and would lie in bed for days in extreme pain before my sensei figured out what was going on and showed me how to fix it' he explained gently rubbing my side where he had kicked as the heat from his hand felt nice.

'I was like that as a kid too. Itachi-sensei felt bad that I pushed myself so hard whereas the others knew their limits. I just didn't want to be a freak so I trained really hard' I explained as I felt him gently kiss my cheek.

'I know the feeling' he muttered as I sighed and pulled my knees up as I allowed myself to drift to sleep in the warmth of his arms. Tomorrow was going to be an insanely busy day as not only was it the exams but I had to talk to Tsunade about a few more uniforms and maybe a new dragon mask because my last one Itachi still hadn't given back to me if he even had it.

I had to get up extra early for the exams as I left Kakashi still snoring lightly for my shower, dressed and was out of the house and on my way to the academy just as the sun was rising. The students wouldn't be coming for another two hours as the academy was a flurry of activity. People were running with papers, boxes containing the new forehead protectors for the students that would pass as I opened the door to Iruka's room only to be hit and knocked over by Shikamaru.

'Oh sorry Yuki-sensei!' he apologized as I rubbed my nose from where the box had hit me. He stepped over me and kept walking down the hall as Iruka gave me a hand up.

'Sorry about that this place is always chaotic on exam day' he smiled as I laughed.

'yea I've almost been smacked at least for or five times now what can I help with?' I asked as Iruka told me there really wasn't anything for me to do since I was now one of the jounin teachers. I was supposed to show up tomorrow to meet the group they chose for me as I nodded.

I guess I would go for my talk with Tsunade as I waved goodbye to Iruka after making plans for dinner with him and Kakashi too if he wasn't busy as I walked to hokage tower. It was quiet as I passed over one of the little rivers that wound its way through town as Nori appeared.

'Good Morning, on your way to the hokage?' she asked as I nodded. Nori didn't say much as she padded along beside me. The streets were mostly vacant except for ninja heading off on missions or helping to open shops as barrels of fruit and vegetables were being unloaded from trucks.

'Do you think having a genin team is a good thing?' I asked as the big cat gave a small child a glance that had him running in fear.

'Depends on what you call good. You're becoming their sensei you'll probably have instances where you will have to protect them but also know when they have to grow. You're following your brother very closely except that you haven't mass murdered your family in cold blood' she added as I gave her an irritated look. She could be such a downer sometimes as Katsu's came floating back to me.

'Konoha already thinks my family is crazy don't give them more to point against me' I snapped as Nori gave a catty shrug.

'People will think what they want only you really know the truth. Now do you know what the Hokage wants?' she changed subject as I shrugged.

'Nope, probably wants me to go to Deidara-kun for more intelligence today while the genin exams are taking place.' I said as Nori snorted.

'Yes be a good little kunoichi and go visit the Akatsuki and hope Leader doesn't murder you' she said sarcastically as I gave her a glare.

'They are my friends as much as no one believes me. I'll bring you with me for precaution because they'll kill Kashi-kun on sight' I said as Nori gave a nod as Hokage tower loomed over us as I entered and walked down the long beige hallway. The usual ANBU guards greeted me as they let me in.

Tsunade was filling out forms and slapping stamps on them as the door closed with a thunk behind us.

'I knew you'd be here early Yuki-san' she said not looking up as Nori took a seat beside my foot.

'Yes, what is it that you would like?' I asked as she grinned and continued filling out forms.

'We need more information on orochimaru. I trust that you can go today and find your resources?' she asked as I thought. Finding the Akatsuki was difficult at best especially since they moved around so much.

'It is difficult finding them but I will see if I can find them today and have a discussion about Orochimaru and the events now taking place in sound.' I said as Tsunade nodded.

'very well go and take your cat too' she said as Nori's fur bristled before I kicked her side and pulled her out with me.

'What a rude woman' Nori commented as we transported back to the house. Kakashi was gone from my room as I grabbed my Akatsuki cloak and changed from my uniform into my Rin mission clothing belting on my chest plate and arm guards, I missed my mask as we left the house taking the roof tops. I hid the cloak under my arm until we were outside of Konoha so I wouldn't cause a disturbance as I sighed and headed for the massive tree I had found Deidara in. Nori kept pace easily as we stayed away from main paths and took the rough forest branches as I made it to the tree and climbed it easily.

Nori was too heavy so she transformed and made it even higher than I did as I looked out over fire country. Nothing. Just puffy white clouds, blue sky and green trees with mountains poking out every so often as far as the eye could see.

'This is a stupid mission' Nori commented as I sighed but agreed with her and decided to head north because that was the direction Deidara had flown off in after I had spoken to him. We continued running as I saw nothing, we were quickly coming up on the border as I felt an enormous chakra flare coming from my right as I dodged just in time to see a massive dragon made of water plough through the trees right where I had been standing It changed course and followed me as I turned and headed in the direction that the flare had come from drawing Akane as I burst into a clearing and swung Akane. There was a dull thunk as I looked up to see Kisame grinning at me as we battled against each other with our swords both pushing for dominance.

'YUKI!' He grinned as I smiled and we both backed off. I was grabbed into a bone crushing hug by the huge shark man as Itachi came stalking out of the shadows of the trees as I grinned.

'Hey, Nii-san' I gasped as Kisame let me go. I could tell he missed me as I punched his arm. It hurt my knuckles as he laughed and messed up my hair with his massive hand leaving me a little dazed. I was like a kid sister to this guy as I growled and tackled him.

He roared with laughter as I even saw Itachi smirk and I attempted to strangle Kisame but he was laughing to hard to do much as I stood claiming victory.

'There's a sight I don't think anyone has seen before, un' I grinned as Deidara landed in a tree and Sasori soon followed.

'Good afternoon Yuki-san' Sasori greeted as I smiled.

'hey everyone, I'm on a mission to find you guys' I said as I saw Nori pad out of the forest. Kisame threw me behind him and drew his sword as the other prepared to attack.

'Holy shit, that's a HUGE cat, un!' Deidara exclaimed as I punched Kisame.

'That's Nori-chan, she's my familiar' I said stepping around the shark man as Nori looked at me.

'These losers are the Akatsuki' she muttered as I saw Deidara twitch.

'WHAT DID YOU SAY CAT? Un!' he snapped as she gave him a bored look.

'A hermaphrodite, a puppet, a walking shark and your half blind brother. Stellar.' She muttered as I glared at her.

'Be NICE Nori, remember they could kill you much more easily than I could and you're pushing it. Now Itachi-sensei I've been sent by the Hokage to retrieve any information about Sound or Orochimaru.' I said as Kisame growled.

'Sound is a mess, there is slim to no order and that bastard of a snake hasn't bothered to show his face yet.' Kisame snapped as I sat in the grass. Deidara came down as did Sasori and took their places in the grass beside me. To anyone else this would've looked like they were going to sacrifice me but Itachi wandered closer.

'We have information that Orochimaru has kept himself away from Sound and is letting the three main villages fight amongst themselves.' Itachi said as Deidara wiggled like a six year old with a secret as he looked at me.

'We have better news uh!' he grinned at me as I looked at Itachi, he seemed impressed as I smiled.

'What is it?' I asked as he suddenly went quite serious.

'Orochimaru is rallying random missing-nin to become parts of those villages. We just came back from wave and that is where he is recruiting missing-nin from there to add to his three villages.' He said as the gears in my head started to turn. Orochimaru was building an army while his country was in a state of chaos.

Something wasn't making sense. Sound was in chaos why would orochimaru be adding ninja to his ranks if he had no control over the villages in the first place?

'Thanks Deidara-kun, have any of you talked to leader-sama yet?' I asked as Itachi locked gazes with me.

'He's not happy that you are working for Konoha but Orochimaru is interfering with his and our plans. He feels that if Konoha can destroy Orochimaru with a little assistance in knowledge from our part he is fine with it. But you can be our only connection we're instructed to kill any Konoha ninja that come with you' he said as I nodded. I was right Leader was a cautious and smart man he did not want unreliable ninja interacting with his team that might cause the fall of the Akatsuki. I had proven to be a reliable asset and a good double agent in their favour but he knew my limitations and usefulness had its limits.

'I see, well I am an Ice ninja most people don't trust us because our loyalties are foremost to our village before others' I said as Deidara gripped me in a hug.

'don't worry we don't think you're a betrayer' Deidara said as I smiled and Kisame slung Samehada over his shoulder.

'We still have to report our news to leader. Something isn't quite right about all of this information we keep getting' Kisame muttered to himself. That was what I liked about Kisame, he could be goofy and loving but at the same time was respectful and polite, even serious when he wanted to be. He was a dangerous combination and if he wasn't blue and had gills I was sure he'd have girls jumping all over him. Too bad for the gills though.

'Yes it is quite strange, how is Konoha yuki-san?' Sasori asked as he looked different. I assumed he was in one of his puppets as the large lump like man stared at me. It was freaky looking at a puppet in a puppet that was talking to you like a normal person.

'Boring, I get my own genin team tomorrow its going to be hell' I sighed flopping back as Itachi smirked.

'Now you understand my pain' he said as I growled.

'I was 16 and an elite ninja when you began training me' I snapped as Itachi shrugged.

'hn' was all he said as Kisame laughed and took a seat in the grass anyway. It seemed like they had been on the move when I had interrupted them as Deidara was taking a nap in the sun as Kisame just lay back and drank from a canteen that I have no idea where he kept. I opened my cloak as I noticed how stuffy they could get as Itachi even sat in the grass. Nori was lounging in a tree deciding to keep to herself.

'How did you guys find me in Konoha without being detected?' I asked as Itachi gave me a confident smirk.

'That is an Akatsuki secret and you can thank your white fang for that' Kisame laughed as I blinked, Kakashi had let them in? That didn't sound like him as I realized that he had been so relieved that I was alive that he would give me the moon, the stars, and the universe if it was possible.

'The better question is how did we find you out here in the woods' Sasori said as I opened my mouth to ask as he continued on. 'I placed a tracking jutsu in that cloak, hence the blue colour. Chakra. It's absorbing it from us right now so we can find you again at a later time if you need us' he explained as I looked at the cloak and pushed chakra into my eyes to see indeed that little threads of chakra were being pulled out of the people beside me and being sucked into the cloak. Most of the chakra was coming from Kisame but it didn't seem to even slightly dent his ocean of chakra as I had to turn away because I knew my eyes were tearing from looking at his bright chakra.

'Hey I know I'm not that ugly why the tears?' Kisame teased as I laughed.

'You have so much chakra it hurts to look at it' I said letting the jutsu drop as I was grabbed into a hug by the large shark man.

'I think you're the only woman other than Konan-san that doesn't scream and run when I hug them' he laughed as I felt bad for him and hugged him back. I always felt like a small child when around Kisame just because he was so huge!

'Awww, what about your mom did she ever hug you?' I asked as he blinked and looked down at me.

'Does my mother count?' he asked as I nodded. He seemed to think for a minute, I wondered how long it had been since he'd seen his mother… or if she was even alive for that matter. He rubbed his forehead causing his protector to slide a little as he fixed it.

'Uh she did before I grew teeth and left home. I don't even know if she's living anymore' he said as I punched him. He gave me an amused look as I glared at him.

'Poor woman, you ran out on your own mother!' I said as Itachi gave a scoff as I turned to look at him.

'Don't you start you killed ours, I never even met the woman!' I said rather irate as Kisame looked surprised but didn't say anything as Itachi looked rather angry.

'This conversation is over' he said and faded into the trees. I knew he was close by he wouldn't leave without Kisame, the two were as loyal as it came. Kisame sighed.

'You hit a nerve' he said as I shrugged and sat leaning against Kisame. He didn't seem to mind as I still felt the cloak drawing from his chakra reserves.

'I know, but I still wanted to meet my mother. It's still a sore spot for all of us I think' I said as I sighed and thought back to my father's flat out denial that I even existed and I definitely was not a part of the Hyuuga's family.

Kisame didn't say anything as Deidara snorted and rolled over muttering about explosions and pocky. Man was this group totally obsessed with the stuff? Sasori was witling something as I remembered the butterfly he had given me for my birthday. I would have to train with it sometime, puppets were hard to use and I would definitely need training.

We sat in silence as Itachi eventually came back, he seemed a little less irritated as he once again took a seat in the grass.

'Do you know who you will have on your genin team?' Itachi asked as I shook my head.

'No, the exams are today I get to see them tomorrow. But, if I ever run into any of you out here battle me just for show but leave the kids please. I don't think I would ever forgive myself if I got them into trouble especially because I wanted to say hi. I know your orders are clear, other than me destroy whoever stands in your path even if it is just children.' I said as Kisame gave a nod.

'I know you think it is harsh but children are just as effective weapons as adults Yuki-san. Sometimes they are more effective because of their cute factor.' Sasori said his black eyes catching mine as I nodded. I knew that one all too well. I was once the child they sent in to look feeble so the ranks would go easy on me before I'd obliterate them. At the time it had been a game, now I realized the horrors I had committed. I really was no better than any of the Akatsuki when it came to the mass numbers of people I had murdered.

'Have you been training?' Itachi asked as I looked at him. Honestly I hadn't been using the sharingan or byakugan and I shook my head and he stood. 'Then we might as well get some work done' he said as I sighed and got out of Kisame's arms and deposited the cloak in his lap. Itachi was a pain in the ass when training as he looked at me we both activated the sharingan as he circled me slowly.

'You remember the mangekyou, Utakata, and heaven and earth mirror techniques correct?' he said as I gave a sharp nod. 'I am going to begin to teach you amaterasu and Tsukuyomi and if we get to it susanoo. Now to begin attack me with the mangekyou and focus on killing me.' He said as I noticed Deidara sit up. Itachi's own sharingan was on as I attacked. He easily deflected my genjutsu and punched me throwing me into the dirt as I jumped back to my feet.

I tried again stretching out my chakra around me and concentrating on ensnaring Itachi within the web I had created. Again I attacked I moved at the last second pointing at him as I felt a connection establish where the world slid into inverted colours before Itachi hit my neck and I was thrown down into the dirt again.

I lay there panting, that had cause a huge toll on my chakra as Itachi looked at me.

'You learn faster than I remember. Good, now you have learnt to web your chakra, the Utakata also helps when first getting a feel for this jutsu. You encountered a snag though because you didn't really want to hurt me. That is unacceptable' he snapped as I flinched in the dirt. Yea Itachi was a touch teacher as I hauled myself to my feet and he snapped at me to try again. Instead of Itachi I thought of Maro when I attacked catching Itachi in my chakra web and pointing at his chakra centre as the world went inverted. Immediately weapons flew from all corners of my mind and pelted Maro but as I looked it was Itachi as I felt my eyes burning. I let go of the genjutsu and felt my legs waver as I fell to the dirt. My eyes hurt so badly as I pulled my hand away to notice I was bleeding crimson tears.

'Yuki-san!' Deidara called as he ran over handing me a scrap of cloth for me to wipe away the blood making my vision tinted with crimson.

'That was sloppy but better' Itachi said as I nodded. He circled me again as I got to my feet blotting my eyes that were still sore and bleeding. 'Now, your chakra web must be more concise and less detectable, I saw your web coming that is not acceptable. Your attack lacked hatred and was feeble that was also unacceptable. You will not be able to use susanoo or amaterasu if you cannot accomplish this technique.' He said as I nodded. I attacked again and refined my chakra web making it a light as mist and transparent as air as I moved around Itachi. He seemed to be waiting as my chakra web connected and I let my anger at Maro for killing Yuuto and Akio pour into me as my eyes started to burn and the world went inverted. Itachi was pinned as weapons were hurled at him, cutting, bruising burning as suddenly the genjutsu snapped and the world reverted back to its normal colours as Itachi took an uneven breath and my vision turned crimson as more bloody tears welled up in my eyes as I blotted them away.

'That was, well done. Keep working' he said as I gave a nod and sat down. My eyes hurt so badly as I felt someone gently pry my fingers off of my sore eyes and put a cool damp cloth over them. It felt like heaven as I could smelt Kisame's sharp salty scent as he held the cloth to my face.

'Done this before?' I teased as he gave a laugh.

'You have no idea' he said as I sighed as Itachi gave me a few moments to recuperate. I had a few swigs of water from a canteen I assumed was Kisame's before Itachi deemed I had had enough of a break and wanted me up again to learn amaterasu. Sometimes I hated being able to learn quickly and adapt quickly it was irritating as Kisame removed the cloth from my eyes. It took me a second for my eyes to focus as they were still sore as I looked at Itachi.

'Now amaterasu require mass amount of chakra so we can only try this once. If you had Kisame-san's chakra we could be out here for hours but you don't so we will try this once' he said as I nodded. This must've been an insanely powerful attack if Itachi only wanted me to attempt it once seeing as I had a pretty large stash of chakra and knew how to balance it and not waste it.

'Now, amaterasu is known as goddess of the sun, it is a fire like jutsu. It will come from your right eye. What you have to concentrate on is fixing a small target with you right eye and focus your chakra net like with tsukuyomi but instead of both eyes only use the right. Close the left if you must and push your chakra through you right eye only. It is like a fire jutsu so use the dragon seal to channel the chakra and make the fire come from your eye not chest.' Itachi explained as he tossed a small square of paper into the air and pegged it on a rock a few meters away with a kunai.

'Go Yuki-san!' Deidara cheered as I gave him a smile. I focused spreading my net fine, thin and delicate as I kept my left eye firmly closed and focused with my right. I felt the familiar fire wanting to be released for a fire ball jutsu as I channel the energy into my eye. In a split second the world went white as my other eye flew open. I saw the square of paper and rock burning with black flames as the pain ricocheted at my eye. I grabbed it as it was slippery with blood as I noticed how low my chakra was as I stood shaking.

'Yuki-san!' Kisame grabbed me as Itachi rushed over and pried my hands off of my eye as he pried it open. I could still see even though the world was bathed in a crimson bath as he poured some liquid into my eyes. It stung as I blinked and he took the cloth from Kisame and wiped my eyes and pressed the cloth over my eyes covering them.

I could still hear the crackle and whoosh the fire made as it was still burning the rock.

'That was very well done Yuki-chan but instead of draining yourself and taking the entire rock focus on the slip of paper' he chastised me as I nodded. Kisame kept me still as I lay in his arms with the damp cloth over my eyes.

'That was so cool Yuki-san, un!' Deidara exclaimed as I smiled.

'Really?' I asked as I assumed he nodded.

'That was like a black explosion and I've never seen such beautiful colours within fire, un' he said as I nodded.

'What colours are there?' I asked as Kisame moved me gently setting me on the grass.

'Black, blue, purple, navy, its quite stunning, un' he said as I heard the whisper of robes as someone came closer.

'And they'll burn for 7 days and night' Itachi mentioned as he removed the wash cloth as I opened my eyes. It hurt amazingly as he dripped something into them, it stung but soon the pain faded away. 'Pain killer' he said as I nodded and opened my eyes looking around. I wasn't weeping tears of blood but my eyes were incredibly sore as I rubbed the area around them.

'Practice those and refine them' Itachi commanded as I nodded still lying in the grass as I looked at the boulder that was indeed consumed in black flames that licked and danced over the entire surface. It was quite scary really as I managed to stand. Nori padded over as I held onto her for support.

'You always seem to push yourself over the edge yuki' Nori chided as I ignored her. I needed to learn these techniques. I had figured out most of the byakugan myself but I still needed to seek out Neji for assistance.

'Training today keeps me alive tomorrow' I quoted Itachi as said man gave me a raised eyebrow as Kisame came to double check on me.

'Do you think you'll be bale to make it back to Konoha alright?' he asked as I nodded.

'Plus since I look like I've just had my ass kicked a million times over I can say I ran into you guys and it wont be a lie' I said as Kisame gave a nod and handed me my cloak.

'Call us when you need us' Sasori smiled as I climbed onto Nori. The big cat jumped into the tree as I gave my friends a final wave as we sped back to Konoha.

'That was a rather dangerous technique you could loose your eyesight with that kind of attack.' Nori said as I closed my eyes as Itachi's potion started to wear off and the bleeding started again. Crimson tears trailed down my face as I held a hand to my face waiting for them to stop on their own. I was grateful that the pain was numbed as the rest of my body was sore from getting knocked about and using massive amounts of chakra.


	26. Babysitting and the flu

We doubled around to the main gate after about two hours of running. Nori slowed to a lazy jump as we sauntered in to Konoha. I must've looked terrible because instantly Kotetsu and Izumo were standing in front of me. I hid my cloak in my sash as hands landed on my shoulders.

'Yuki-senpai, what happened?!' they asked as Itachi's pain killer wore off and the pain returned to my eyes as I slapped a hand over them with a muted cry.

'Akatsuki, I was… ambushed… two hours south east of here' I panted as my eyes felt like they were burning and thousands of little needles were being stabbed into them as more bloody tears ran down my cheeks.

'Fuck' Kotetsu cursed as I felt an arm circle my shoulders before my ears popped from the transportation jutsu. The familiar tang of hospital met my nose as I was led by Kotetsu to a nurse then into one of the hospital rooms where I was immediately fitted with an IV had my eyes cleaned and given a sedative as I lay on the bed blissfully unaware of what was going on. I watched the underside of the gauze they had put on my eyes as I heard the door slide open.

'God, do you enjoy getting hurt or does trouble just find you?' it was Tsunade as I relaxed as she took off the gauze and looked at my eyes. There was no one else in the room. 'So you were attacked by Akatsuki, and you used the mangekyou sharingan to get away did you run into Itachi and Kisame?' she asked as I nodded. I knew she knew I had been practicing and had pushed to far as she nodded. 'I want you to report to me tomorrow after you get your genin team and examine their skills' she said as I nodded.

She put her hands on either side of my eyes as I felt the cool healing chakra mend my eyes through the heavy sedation they had me under to minimize the pain. She handed me a bottle and removed the IV and put more gauze over my eyes as the door opened.

'Ah Hatake-san, you're just in time she's all good to go home.' Tsunade said as I heard Kakashi's long strides come closer to the bed.

'Akatsuki?' he asked as I assumed Tsunade nodded as I felt Kakashi's calloused hands on mine as I smiled.

'I'm fine really, just over did the sharingan techniques' I said as Tsunade was obviously giving me a look.

'I suggest you go out the window unless you want people asking why you're carrying an Uchiha heiress' Tsunade said as I gently felt Kakashi lift me as I swung myself onto his back.

'You enjoy causing yourself pain' he muttered as I smacked him.

'No I always over do it not knowing my own limits' I said as I heard him chuckle.

'I'm glad I ended up with someone so crazy' he said off handedly as I poked his shoulder as I felt the we were running by Kakashi long smooth and light jumps. I swore this man has springs for legs as I had that weightless feeling before we landed and took off again.

'You love crazy, I make life interesting' I said as he laughed.

'And terrifying, Iruka said you were attacked by Akatsuki on a mission to retrieve some scrolls from the southern monastery and that you were a mess and bleeding from your eyes. Scared me half to death.' He said as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

'I'm sorry but I was attacked and over did the sharingan. Taking down Kisame is difficult when I know Itachi uses him as practice for his genjutsu' I said as Kakashi didn't have a comment to that statement.

'I'm just glad that they took it easy on you' he said as he slowed to a walk. 'The good news is that all of the genin in your class passed their exams, even Nobu-kun who I knew you were worried about' he said as I blinked.

'How did you know that?' I asked as he shrugged.

'You always worry over his tests the longest and even pen in some of the correct answers of give him half marks for answers.' He said with a hint of a smile in his voice. ''Plus you were talking about it last night in your sleep' he mentioned as I rolled my eyes and smacked him as he laughed and entered the house.

'We're back and Yuki-chan is fine.' He called as I heard hurried foot falls before I felt Sasuke's familiar chakra flare.

'What happened?' he asked as I sighed.

'I ran into Itachi and Kisame and over did the sharingan so that my eyes bled. Yes Naruto-kun it hurts and no Sakura-chan Tsunade already healed as much as she could the rest I have to do on my own with pain killers.' I said as I assumed the trio were exchanging looks between the three of them as I smiled.

'Couch please!' I asked as Kakashi moved and deposited me on the couch. I wasn't supposed to take off the bandages until tomorrow or use my sharingan unless absolutely necessary. Dealing with the kids tomorrow shouldn't be too hard as I realized I had dinner plans with Iruka.

'Kashi-kun what time is it?' I asked as I heard his lazy footsteps in the kitchen.

'About six why?' he asked as I shot off of the couch.

'I'm supposed to meet Iruka-kun for supper do you want to come?' I asked as he hesitated.

'No, I think I'll train with Pakkun tonight they haven't had a good run in a few days' he said as I nodded.

'Nori!' I called as a head hit my leg. 'Can you take me to Ichiraku to meet Iruka?' I asked as she sighed.

'All you do is ask me for things, next time I'm going to ask you for something' she said as I shrugged.

'Deal' I said and climbed onto her rather oddly as she raced to Ichiraku. We made it in record time as I cast a rather weak chakra net and found Iruka already sitting down as I entered the little shop.

'Oh Yuki-sensei, I though Kakashi had kept you' he laughed as I smiled.

'No I was attacked by Akatsuki this afternoon sorry about being late' I said and pointed to the bandage as the restaurant went silent. I cast the net again over Iruka to make out his facial expression in hues or blue as he appeared surprised.

'You fought against Akatsuki this afternoon and all you came out with was a damaged sharingan?' he asked as I nodded.

'Plus the blue one threw me around like a rag doll a few times so I'm rather bruised.' I said lying thought my teeth. The bruises were from Kakashi and I sparring the day before as Iruka whistled long and low.

'Wow you're good to only come out with just some scratches, bruises and a slightly over done sharingan. Even Kakashi couldn't do that' Iruka commented as I nodded. Kakashi also wasn't a friend of the Akatsuki and had a brother in the organization that was his former sensei.

'Vegetarian again miss?' I heard the ramen girl ask as I nodded.

'Yes thanks' I said as Iruka laughed. 'What?' I asked keeping my chakra net up so I could make out various objects and people but not expressions.

'You look hilarious with the mask and gauze kind of like a weird mummy' he snickered as I punched his shoulder.

'jerk, I'll have you know I have to wear this unless you want me bleeding everywhere and that would not be sanitary!' I said as Iruka laughed.

'yes that would be bad. Why do you only order vegetarian?' he asked as I shrugged.

'I've never been big on meat and vegetarian tastes better to me' I said as Iruka laughed and nodded. I guessed he'd never tried different types of Ramen as there was a loud.

'Iuka-sensei!' as I saw a tribe of the new genin crowd around their sensei.

'hello my new genin!' he smiled as the kids started talking all at once.

'Yuki-sensei what's wrong with your eyes?' I heard Kouga ask as the voice was right by my elbow. I looked in his direction as Iruka explained.

'Yuki-sensei came in contact with some s-class missing-nins and over used one of her special blood line limits that caused her eyes to have some damage to them.' He explained as the kids were suddenly very concerned.

'Does it hurt?' It was kagome that spoke up.

'No not very much I just cant use my special techniques until my eyes heal' I explained as there was a collective oh from th group. 'Are you excited to meet your new sensei's tomorrow?' I asked as they all cheered. I knew they were as soon they departed leaving Iruka and I to our meals.

'Kids are funny' he commented taking a mouthful of noodles. I used my speed jutsu finishing my food in record time as I felt my chakra grow a little from the warm food.

'Yes they are.' I laughed as Iruka and I talked about my test for the kids and wondering who I'd have paired with me. Iruka thought I'd have Kiko or Momo for sure just because both were a good match to have on my team plus there was a factor that each team was compiled based upon the tests scores such as the student with the worst marks is paired with the student with the best marks.

It was nice talking with Iruka, he was quickly becoming one of my best friends as I thought about Kurenai and the twins.

'Do you want to go check up on Kurenai-chan and the twins? I'm sure Asuma-kun could use some time to talk with us.' I said as Iruka agreed as this time he paid for both of our meals and we headed to the opposite side of town. It wasn't late only around seven when we knocked as Asuma appeared looking exhausted.

'Oh hey Asuma-kun we wanted to drop by and see if you guys wanted any help with the twins' I said as his dark brown eyes smiled at my kind offer.

'Sure, Kurenai-chan was just talking about you two actually Yuki-san' he smiled and led us up the little flight of stairs to the kitchen and living room. Kurenai looked exhausted as she held the twins and watched TV while the duo in her arms stared at one another and Akio was blowing bubbles at his sister.

'Hey Kurenai-chan!' I piped up as she turned and gave me a warm smile.

'Yuki-chan I heard you were promoted to Jounin teacher like Asuma-kun and myself' she grinned as I nodded and sat beside her. Gently she passed me Akio as he gave a screech of delight and latched onto my violet hair once again. I heard the two men laugh and move away into the kitchen. Iruka didn't have many friends but I think I could introduce him to some people that he would like and I knew Asuma, as brash as he could be, had a good heart and welcomed any of my friends.

'Are you nervous about teaching the genin?' she asked as I smiled and rocked Akio a bit and he flailed his arms still holding my hair.

'A little, I don't want to push them too hard. My sensei was very strict and it made me a great ninja but I lost my childhood to early for my liking I want to give them a balance' I said as Kurenai nodded.

'I was the same way. Kiba-kun, Hinata-chan and Shino-kun are like my younger siblings now. I love them so much because they have grown so strong and I know you'll do a great job with your own team Yuki-chan' she smiled putting a hand on my shoulder as I noticed Saki's eyes were staring at me as I made a funny face and she gave me a giggle and waved her arms.

'It's nice that Hinata-chan has someone to look out for her. I can't even look after my brothers let alone my half sister and her family that thinks I don't exist.' I laughed as Kurenai put a hand on my shoulder.

'Hinata-chan is strong, she has Naruto-kun now and what I hear from her is that you and Kakashi-kun seemed to have adopted that trio seeing as none of them have parents anymore you and Kakashi-kun are the closest they have' she said as I smiled and rocked Akio as he started to fuss.

'I guess that's true. I never really thought about it before but I guess I really do have my own little family' I laughed as Kurenai nodded and turned back to the TV. In moments she was asleep as I took Saki from her and held the twins watching the news as I noticed that orochimaru still hadn't been seen and the political state of sound was posted everywhere as I sighed and watched some of the scenes that had been taped as I cringed at how bad sound had become after their dictator had vanished.

'Is Kurenai-chan still awake?' Asuma's voice was quiet as I looked over to see the two guys coming back up from downstairs as I shook my head. A small smile crossed his face as he hopped up the last few stairs and crossed the room. The twins were dozing in my arms as Asuma gently lifted Kurenai into his arms.

'Thank you Yuki-chan this is the first time in nearly two days that she's slept' he said quietly as he tiptoed to the bedroom past the kitchen Kurenai soundly asleep the entire way. I rocked the twins as Iruka poked his head up from downstairs and gave me a grin.

'There's a sight Kakashi would freak out if he saw' Iruka teased as I stuck out my tongue at the chounin. He laughed and came to sit beside me as I passed Saki to him. She gave a little yawn and fell even more asleep in Iruka's arms than mine. Akio was soundly asleep like a little rag doll as I shifted him higher up in my arms.

'I don't know Kashi-kun might want kids one day' I said and gave Akio a little rock as I saw Iruka's lip twitch in a smile.

'Maybe, he seems quite content with team 7 though' he said as I laughed.

'Yes those three definitely are like his kids except they disrespect him so much sometimes its painful' I said a little sadly as Asuma came back into the room, he looked like he was going to pass out as well as I smiled.

'Asuma-kun so get some sleep. Iruka and I will baby sit for a few hours so you guys can get some sleep' I said as I thought Asuma was going to break down and cry as he thanked me immensely and went back into the bedrooms and closed the door behind him.

'Wow he certainly was tired' Iruka muttered as I nodded. Babies were a great deal of work and two parents could be run ragged if others didn't help them even just a little. I looked down as Akio and changed the TV channel away from the depressing situation in Sound. A few hours passed before the twins woke up and Akio wanted to play with my hair and Saki needed to be changed as I took the blubbering twin and changed her. Iruka wasn't accustomed to dealing with babies and toddlers as Saki managed to kick me as I wanted to turn on my sharingan to intimidate her but I couldn't because of the bandaging and soreness as I noticed how large of a chakra well she had for a baby. It was immense as I looked over to where Iruka was holding Akio and noticed that the baby glowed slightly brighter than even Iruka did. It was odd seeing as all I was going by was a basic chakra net so details were still a little foggy. It was weird as I brought Saki back to the couch and lay her in a bouncy sling that had toys over it as I gently rocked her with my foot. She seemed to enjoy the bounce/rock motion as she drifted to sleep again. Akio did not want to sleep as he grabbed for Iruka's forehead protector and shiny hair tie. Even though he had no control over his head he still tried and ended up kicking Iruka more than a few times as I giggled at the sight before we traded babies again.

Akio stared up at me with his huge eyes as I noticed his navy blue eye was now even darker. It was definitely going to be brown as I blew a raspberry on his stomach and he squealed in delight grabbing fistfuls of hair and gave a pull.

'Ow, Akio-kun' I said gently pulling my hair out of the child's grasp as he giggled and kicked me trying to get another lock of my hair.

'You really are good with children' Iruka laughed as I shook my head.

'No most just scream at me these two seem to like me though' I told him as Akio let out a delighted scream before I knew he had to be changed too. 'Give me a sec' I said going and changing the little boy. I returned to the couch as it was well after midnight before Asuma was up once again.

'Thank you so much Yuki-kun, Iruka-san. I'm sorry I slept so long.' He said taking the now snoozing twins from us as I just smiled.

'Not a problem. Call the Uchiha main house if you need a babysitter. I'm sure I could wrangle someone to come over probably female too' I said as Asuma thanked me again and tried to pay me as I refused as did Iruka saying we were friends and it was no problem as Iruka and I both headed home because I knew Kakashi would be pissed that I disappeared all evening.

I managed to make it to my room alright before I turned on my lamp and nearly had a heart attack because Kakashi was sitting Indian style on my bed not looking very impressed.

'You know it's after 1 in the morning' he said as I flinched. Woopsie.

'I was helping out Kurenai-chan with the twins her and Asuma-san were so tired Kurenai-chan fell asleep on the couch and Asuma-san passed out not too long after' I told him as he stood and came to stand in front of me and pulled my mask down.

'You just had me worried especially with your eyes' he said as I sighed. I had been so temped all day to take off the gauze and just look around.

Kakashi's lips caught mine as I wrapped my arms around his neck as his slid onto my hips. Kakashi could be so sweet when he wanted to be as he left my lips and kissed my nose as I giggled. He laughed as well and pulled me in for another hug as I played with the hem of his soft shirt.

'You're really worried about the genin's tomorrow aren't you?' he asked as I nodded and I felt him run a hand through my hair. He kissed my forehead as I smiled and jumped on him. His knees hit the edge of my bed as we crashed to the soft surface landing with me straddling his hips as in one deft movement I had his shirt off. He groaned as I kissed my way down to his neck where I scraped my teeth along his rapidly quickening pulse.

(Warning Lemonade: just a heads up for all of you squeamish people!)

'Yuki' he breathed as I noticed the room felt a little colder as he had managed to untie my Sash as the Akatsuki cloak fell to the floor as he sat up pulling off my yukata and mesh shirt. He pulled my hips against his as I groaned as he sucked on my neck through my cloth mask as I melted against him. My hands fisted in his hair as he moaned my name as I shifted in his lap. He grabbed the hem of my shirt and lifted it over my head before he rolled pinning me underneath him as he ravaged my chest with nips, kisses and licks as my pulse raced. My god he was amazing.

I tricked him by slipping my hand past the waist band of his shorts as I rubbed his now hard member as he nearly growled it sounded like as I grinned and flipped us so I was on top again. I deftly undid his belt and pants as he kicked them off. I wrapped my hand around his obvious arousal and gave a long pull and stroke motion as he bucked into my hand throwing his head back and gasping my name.

I loved having control as I repeated the movement and moved to swirl my tongue around the tip and I felt his hands fist in my hair.

'Oh god, Yuki' he breathed as I repeated the motion until I nearly had him screaming my name as I moved my left hand to press the soft skin just below his erection as I gave a final pull and he screamed my name. I deftly spat the salty liquid into a tissue beside my bed as Kakashi looked at me still in his hazy state as he grabbed me and kissed me passionately rolling so I was pinned under him as he rid me of my pants and underwear. He moved from kissing me to nibbling on my ear as his hands traced down my sides. I was actually surprised no one had heard Kakashi's scream as the thought was soon forgotten as Kakashi attacked my chest. I could feel the heat building in my lower abdomen as he moved his right hand lower as I felt him slide a finger inside of me. I grabbed his broad shoulders and gasped at the amazing sensation as he kiss my throat and started moving his fingers inside of me as I nearly came right there as he pulled back for a minute before inserting another finger.

It was amazing as I met his hand thrust for thrust as I felt the fire building as I distantly heard myself panting Kakashi's name as his thumb flicked over my clitoris as I came hard. I threw my head back in an silent scream as I felt all of my muscles tighten at once as I gasped Kakashi's name before lying still. He pulled his hand out as I watched him lick his fingers before he kissed me again. It was weird tasting yourself as his tongue raged with mine over dominance as I tweaked his nipples and felt him become hard all over again.

This night was never going to end at this rate as Kakashi seemed to forget manners and roughly hauled me up and flipped me over so I was on my hands and knees. Kinky as I felt him take me from behind. It was amazing how deep he could get like this as both of our shouts rang out as we both collapsed on the bed breathing heavily.

(Warning over! Ja!)

'Nice training.' He teased as I kicked him and rolled under the blanket. I heard him chuckle before the blanket was gone and he was my blanket wrapping his arms and legs around me and pulling me against his chest as I grabbed a blanket and tossed it over both of us. His breath tickled the back of my neck as he fell asleep quickly. I was impressed with myself I had done all that and still had my gauze blindfold on. Ah being a ninja had its perks as I settled down in Kakashi's arms to sleep.

'ACHOO!' the sneeze jerked me awake as I looked up to see white. Right gauze. My eyes were still sore as I reached out for my night table onto to his a wall of soft skin. I cast a chakra web to see Kakashi sitting and blowing his nose in some of the tissues on my nightstand.

'are you alright?' I asked as he nodded.

'Seems I've caught a cold' he said standing still completely nude as I resisted the urge to jump him right there and then. No down girl, pain meds, need pain meds. I couldn't make out the sold mass that was my night table as I sighed.

'Kashi-kun can you hand me the pain and anxiety meds?' I asked as he handed me the two bottles as I took the two pills and gave the bottle back to him as he sneezed again. I reached out and rubbed his back as he picked up his clothes and pulled on his boxers and pants throwing his tank-mask on. He promptly pulled it down and sneezed as I handed him a wad of tissues.

I got up and walked to where my closet was using my chakra net as I felt which clothes were jounin uniforms and which were normal clothing. I really didn't feel like wearing the uniform as I put on my normal ice gear and threw Yuuto's jacket over it because it looked like it might rain.

'You look like a jounin' Kakashi muttered as I felt his arms wrap around me. I smiled.

'Not from here though' I said as he laughed and kissed my cheek. I smiled and turned and gave him a hug as he started coughing. 'You're sick you should be in bed' I said leading him back to my bed and making him sit down.

'I'll only stay if you're here with me' he muttered as I tried to glare at him but all I could see was the grey darkness of the gauze as I felt the painkillers take effect.

'You need rest Kashi-kun. I'll be back later after meeting with the twerps and giving them your bell test.' I said as he coughed again. I sighed and reached over gently feeling his face as I brushed his hair from his face. 'Sleep, you'll feel better. I'll get Sakura-chan to make you some tea.' I said feeling for a fever. He was warm but nothing serious as I headed out of my room casting a chakra net to keep me from falling down the stairs.

I heard shuffling and clinking of china as I caught Sasuke sitting drowsily eating a bowl of cereal while Naruto was asleep in his and Sakura was making toast.

'Good morning Yuki-chan! May I take a look at your eyes?' Sakura asked as soon as I sat at the table. She came over and gently peeled off he tape and layers of gauze as the bright light in the kitchen hurt my eyes as I slowly opened them.

'Do they hurt?' Sakura asked as I nodded. They were sore as I noticed the backs of the bandages were a bloody mess. I guess I had been crying blood more than I had thought. 'Did Tsunade-shishou give you any medications?' she asked.

'Yes I already took the pain meds this morning' I said as Sakura nodded and wiped at my eyes with a damp cloth that felt amazing. She cleaned the dried blood and gunk out of my eyes as I blinked and looked around.

'Wow your eyes are purple not their usual white blue' Naruto commented as I figured they'd be inflamed for awhile.

'it's because of the inflammation in her eyes Naruto-kun. The red mixed with her normal blue makes them look purple.' Sakura explained as Naruto nodded totally not understanding at all.

'Colour theory moron' Sasuke mumbled as Naruto started screaming at him as I slapped a hand over his mouth.

'Don't start. Kashi-kun is sick and I want him to sleep. I have to go meet my genin team and report to Tsunade-sama about the attack yesterday so Naruto-kun you are going to shut up and go find Hinata-chan. Ni-chan you are not going to provoke Naruto-kun today you and Sakura-chan are going to go get me the items I need to clean up the hot springs at the back of the house got it?' I said between the two of them as I noticed Sakura was making tea to bring up to Kakashi. She cared a great deal for her sensei even if she didn't want to show it as the two young men glared at each other but seeing as I was the owner of the house and property they didn't argue as Naruto finished his now soggy cereal.

I accepted the toast from Sakura as she dashed upstairs with the tea on a tray for Kakashi as I sighed and retied my forehead protector before leaving for the academy. I wondered who would be the other jounins as I noticed Shikamaru and Neji talking as they walked toward the academy.

'Hey guys!' I called as they both looked up. Shikamaru gave a lazy wave as Neji raised his hand in greeting as I caught up with them.

'So off to the academy?' Shikamaru asked with a yawn as I nodded.

'That makes three of us then' Neji said as I blinked.

'You two are jounin?' I asked as they gave me are-you-completely-stupid-of-course-we-are stares as I shook my head. 'Never mind who else?' I asked as Neji shrugged.

'Most of your year didn't bother with the jounin exam. Too troublesome' Shikamaru yawned as I laughed.

'There has to be someone else' I said as I heard loud protesting.

'THERE IS NO WAY I AM TAKING ON A TEAM OF BRATS!' I heard a familiar voice as I sighed and rubbed the bridge of my noise.

'Anko' we all said as said Jounin was being dragged to the academy by not only Asuma but Gai and Jiraiya had her legs as she screamed at the top of her lungs.

'Morning guys' I called cheerily as Jiraiya gave me a huge grin and dropped Anko causing Gai and Asuma to stumble as the white haired sage ran over and grabbed my hands.

'YUKI! Just the girl I wanted to talk to you see… you have given me great inspiration to write my new novel and you know what? I'm going to make you the star, of course I'll change your name but your story is just so magnificent! How about it?' he asked as I saw everyone viciously miming NO, NO, DON'T DO IT, NO!!! Neji looked like he was about to have a conniption and Shikamaru was waving his arms like a lunatic as was Asuma while Gai was miming hanging himself.

'Uh who would the other characters be?' I asked as Jiraiya grinned as Shikamaru smacked himself in the forehead and Neji started bashing his head off of the fence and Gai tired to stop him as Anko glared from the head lock Asuma had her in after she had tried to run away.

'Well of course you and Kakashi, we'll throw in your little love with you Rin fellow that died tragically and Itachi of course and the bad guy oh this will be perfect!' he gushed as I smiled.

'Sure Jiraiya-san whatever makes you happy' I said as everyone gave up and sighed like I had just signed my own death warrant as Jiraiya grabbed me into a massive hug making all of the air leave my lungs.

'THANK YOU YUKI-SAN!' he exclaimed as I patted his shoulder.

'No problem, can I breathe now?' I gasped as he let me go and I drew in a deep breath wincing as the spot where Kakashi had kicked me slashed with pain.

'Sorry about that, don't you all have to be somewhere?' he asked as we all cursed and ran for the academy Gai dragging Anko along by the scruff of her shirt regardless of her screams as we all made it to the academy in record time as Iruka stood looking rather unimpressed that we were ALL late.

'Yuki-sensei I expected this from Kakashi-sensei not you' Iruka teased as I grinned.

'Just some problems that arose' I said as Shikamaru yawned.

'Yeah Jiraiya-pervert is going to be writing his new book about her and Kakashi-senpai exciting eh?' Shikamaru commented as Iruka burst out laughing as I blushed under my mask thankful for the cloth as Anko was hauled into the room by Gai.

'Now students these are all of your teachers. I will call you names and your sensei will introduce themselves. Team 14 Gai –Kimi, Tobi, Hayate.' He called as the student with their new and huge forehead protectors went to stand with Gai.

'Team 15 Anko- Kagome, Nobu, Katsu' he called as I smirked oh payback was a bitch as the energetic Nobu bounced over to his new teacher as Anko looked like she wanted to hang herself.

'Team 16 Neji- Tohru, Kyo, momiji' he called as the kids filed over looking extremely nervous at the sight of Neji as I gave my cousin a nudge as he relaxed and even smiled a little.

'Team 17 Shikamaru- Mei, Kirio, Noru' he called as I blinked realizing there were only three student left without a teacher as they beamed at me.

'That leaves team 18 Yukiko- Momo, Kiko, and Kouga' he said as the excited students ran over and nearly tackled me as I smiled at all of them. I was glad I had these three as they hugged me. I laughed as I decided it was time to go. I waved to the other Jounin as Anko gave me a death glare as I hurried my new students out of the room ignoring Kouga's protests that we still had to talk as I dragged all three of them.

'Now, it is customary for all jounin teachers to give you guys a practical exam before we being' I said as I heard Momo gulp and Kouga look excited. Kiko glanced at Kouga as a blush stained her cheeks. Awww how cute she had a crush on the puppy as we kept walking toward training ground 3.

'So what kind of exam, do we have to leap over shuriken, walk on water, climb up walls?' he asked as I walked into the training area. Kakashi told me this place was best because of the three large poles.

'Who ate breakfast?' I asked as all of them shook their heads. I grinned this would work perfectly as Nori stepped out with the lunches I had specifically asked her to pack.

'Now there are two lunches. The test is that you have to get these two bells from me before lunch.' I said as Kiko's hand shot into the air.

'Yes' I asked as she scrunched up her face.

'But there's three of us, that means someone won't get a bell.' She said as I nodded.

'Exactly two of you get to eat the third gets to be tied to that post over there and watch while the others eat.' I said as I noticed Momo was very nervous. 'And the third one is kicked off the team' I said deadly seriously as Kouga gaped at me.

'You cant do that!' he said as I raised an eyebrow.

'I am your jounin sensei becoming a ninja is difficult I am not going to go easy on you. Now you have four hours. Go' I said as all three took off into the shrubs. They were good at hiding at least as I could sense Momo's scared chakra flare and Kouga thinking of a jutsu as I jumped into the nearest tree creating a clone seamlessly as if I had never left the clearing. I made the clone walk around as Kiko burst out of a nearby shrub and throw a hail of kunai and shuriken at the clone as she caught them easily and blocked an attack from behind my Momo as Kiko attempted to grab one of the bells. My clone disappeared into a log as Momo squeaked and fell over before jumping out of the clearing for cover as I circled the clearing and walked out of the trees. I knew where Kouga was hiding as I pulled out a manga that I had been reading as I waited to the next attack.

An hour had passed and the group had yet to make a move as I put my book in my pocket and went looking for them. I found them all together conducting a plan as I sat and watched. It was a very good plan with one flaw. I knew their plan. I laughed and back tracked to the pillars where I sat waiting for them. I felt the chakra flares approach as I slumped backward looking like I was asleep as I tracked them across the clearing.

'Yuki-sensei!' I heard Kiko shout as I pretended to wake up as I looked at the white haired girl and stood.

'Yes?' I asked as she grinned.

'How much time do we have left?' she asked as I smiled.

'3 hours' said as I heard the whoosh of the trap being let go as I substituted. There was cheer as my clone was impaled before there was a puff of smoke and a log was in its place. I appeared behind Kouga as he cursed.

'Kouga…BOO!' I said as he jumped and fell out of the tree. I saw him make a wide grab for the bell as I rolled out of the way as Momo surprised me by coming from my right and nearly grabbing a bell is I hadn't substituted and landed in the middle of the clearing. The kids looked tired as Kouga got up and charged me. I blocked his punches easily and spun him around so he landed on his back with a thump that winded him.

'Fire ball no jutsu!' Kiko snapped as I grabbed Kouga's arm, flung him out of the way and jumped back from the giant fireball as Momo attacked me riding on Kouga's puppy who was now the size of a small bear as she released a very basic clone jutsu and threw as many weapons as her small frame could hold. I grinned and caught a kunai deflecting all of her weapons as I noticed Kiko and Momo disappear back into the shrubbery as the clearing fell silent again. I noticed Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, Hinata, Shino and Kiba had come by to watch as Naruto burst out laughing as I turned to see Kouga making a dash for the lunches I caught him easily enough.

'Nice try kiddo' I said as he grinned.

'Heh, oops?' he said as I tied him firmly to one of the posts as Naruto laughed at him. 'Oh come on Yuki-sensei!' he cried as I ignored him. Nori sat at his feet licking her paws as I laughed.

'You violated the rules Kouga-kun. You automatically loose.' I said as I saw Kiko run out of her hiding spot and attack in a blind rage.

'don't hurt Kouga-kun!' she snapped trying to punch me as she swung ducked and dove as I evaded her easily enough. I didn't want to hurt her as I sighed and deftly slipped a piece of wire around her sandal and threw the Kunai it was attached to into a tree as soon the screeching kunoichi was hanging upside down.

'Kouga-kun!' she screeched as I sighed and stared up at her.

'You're pathetic. Never attack in a blind panic it'll only get yourself and your teammates killed. Understand?' I said as se glared at me.

'I know that.' she said as I saw Momo creep out of her hiding spot.

'No you don't otherwise you would've reigned in you emotions and thought levelly and if you touch Kouga-kun Momo-chan you're going to end up tied to that post as well' I said as I noticed the girl freeze and back away from her whimpering teammate as I smiled when the timer went.

'Well, seeing as I have both bells. You all fail.' I said as there were three strangled cries as team seven exchanged looks. As Kiba, Hinata and Shino exchange interested glances.

'You cant fail us!' Kiko snapped as I gave her a blunt look.

'I can. I admit that you have good control over your chakra but you need to remember to always be level headed. Emotions can be good but they need to be thought through logically before you attack.' I said walking away as I noticed Momo looked incredibly sad.

'but Yuki-sensei!' she called as I turned to look at her.

'Can you give us one more chance?' she asked as I thought it over.

'Why?' I asked as the peach haired girl looked at her two comrades.

'Because, I have a plan and I want to know if it'll work' she said looking at her teammates as I smiled.

'Alright. But you are NOT allowed to feed Kouga-kun he broke the rules and tried to eat before he did any work. Therein he is not able to eat.' I stated as the two girls nodded and I threw a kunai that cut the wire holding Kiko in the air as she landed on her feet. I walked away from the group as Nori stayed to supervise as I went to say hi to the others.

'yuki-chan you have Kouga-kun good luck' Kiba whistled as I rolled my eyes. They were becoming sore again as Sakura produced the pill bottle. Damn she was good as I swallowed one of the little red tablets.

'it's strange that you have a group with two girls Yuki-chan' Hinata whispered as I nodded. It was quite strange.

'Seems we had an odd number of girls to boys and I had the left overs but I think this could work' I said looking back and noticing the girls conferring with each other as Kouga whimpered and struggled against his bonds.

'Using Kakashi-sensei's test?' Sasuke asked as I nodded.

'It seemed appropriate seeing as teamwork is what genin students need.' I said as I watched Kiko debating on whether or not to feed Kouga. I kept myself turned away as I heard Naruto stifle a laugh.

'The little peach haired one just fed the boy' Sakura pointed out as I nodded.

'She did it again' Hinata whispered as I waited.

'Are you going to go over there?' Shino asked as I gave the bug ninja a raised eyebrow.

'Who is the jounin?' I asked as I was sure he rolled his eyes but you couldn't see anything of the kid behind his black glasses and coat. 'Alright time for some yelling' I said as the teens flinched as I transported over to where they were sitting.

'I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH A BLATANT DISREGARD FOR THE RULES!' I roared at them as all three cowered from me. I glared at each one of them. 'I was going to give you a change but not only did you break my rules you did so TWICE that is not how we shinobi do things!' I snapped as even the teens at the far end of the field winced. Kiko and Momo were cowering as I loomed over them.

'Now explain why you broke the rules.' I said as Kiko was the one to stand up and look me in the eye.

'We fed him because if he didn't have the energy he couldn't help us attack you as a group!' Kiko spat back at me as a grin split my face.

'So you could attack me as a group. What is that called?' I asked as Momo spoke up.

'Working together as a team.' She whispered as I nodded.

'very good and what is the most important rule as a shinobi?' I asked as they all seemed to think really hard.

'Trust your teammates' Momo whispered again as I nodded.

'Right Momo-chan. You and your team are one you eat, breathe, sleep, train and live together. Separately you can be taken down but if you work together as a unit anything is possible if you work hard enough' I said as the trio exchanged looks.

'Do we still fail?' Kouga asked miserably as I laughed.

'No you all pass because you figured out what this entire exercise was about.' I said as all three of them exchanged confused but happy glances as I untied the rope and Kouga hopped down grabbing my lunch and shoveling the food into his mouth as his puppy came over.

'Here Tomodachi!' he said as I laughed. His dog was named little friend as I saw the teens laugh and smile to themselves as they entered the training area.

'Good work Kouga-kun' Kiba grinned as the genin promptly jumped up to show his cousin his forehead protector as Akamaru and Tomodachi rolled in the grass.

'Sakura-sama!' Kiko called as Momo blushed as Sasuke and Naruto standing in the clearing. I gave Hinata a hug and introduced Momo and Kiko to the group as well as Kouga. Momo blushed and hid behind me as Hinata gave a shy laugh.

'Momo-chan, its alright I don't bite' she teased with her soft voice as Momo came out from behind me to talk to the soft voiced kunoichi. I loved Hinata, she was such a sweetheart as Kiko was drilling Sakura about different plants that were useful on missions as Sasuke and Naruto wandered over to stand by me.

'So you have a know it all, an ADD ADHD, and someone who's so shy she cant even face a scarecrow' Sasuke muttered as I punched him.

'Be nice from what I hear you were a know it all with a superiority complex that you still haven't over come' I snapped as he blinked realizing I was probably right. Momo walked back over to where I was as Naruto saw her and grinned.

'you must be Momo-chan!' he exclaimed as the little girl blushed bright red before hiding behind me and Hinata as Naruto laughed and crouched to her level. 'Did you know Hinata-chan is my girlfriend?' he asked as Momo's eyes went wide and she shook her head as Naruto smiled at her. 'She is and I think you're going to grow up to be just like her' he said as Momo blushed at the compliment and looked at me. I smiled.

'it's true Momo-chan with enough work you can be just like Hinata-chan' I said as a determination seemed to form in the little girl as I grinned. Leave it to Naruto to give people inner strength as I gave the blonde boy a hug.

'Thanks Naruto-kun' I whispered as he blushed slightly.

'It was nothing really Onee-chan' he laughed as I grinned. Maybe it wasn't much but it helped push Momo in the direction of becoming a beautiful kunoichi as Sakura walked over with Kiko in tow.

'Well we must be off we started over hauling the hot spring and found more rotted timbers that we originally thought. Do you guys care to help?' she asked the others as they all left leaving me and my team in the clearing.

'So what now?' Kouga asked as I shrugged.

'I think training is over for today. Meet at the bridge by the memorial at oh…10 tomorrow?' I said as they nodded excited at the prospect of sleeping in as they all scurried off. I sighed as Nori came to stand beside me.

'I was worried that they wouldn't get it honestly' I told the large cat as she purred.

'Kouga is smarter than he looks. He was the one who convinced them to feed him so that they could all work together.' She said as I ran my hands through her silky fur.

'But he froze up when I started yelling, he's going to have to work on that' I said as Nori nodded. I sighed and headed to hokage tower


	27. the filler

I really wanted to check on Kakashi and make sure he was alright as I walked down the cream coloured halls that led to Tsunade's office. The usual ANBU greeted me with nods as I waved and pushed into the room.

Tsunade was working through papers slamming stamps on them faster than humanly possible as Shizune was throwing them in files left right and centre.

'Ah good I take it your genin team passed the bell test' she said as I blinked how had she known. 'the bells are still on you belt loop' she pointed out as I felt really stupid in that moment as she set her stamp down and fixed me with a look. 'now what do our friends have to say about orochimaru?' she asked as I retold her my encounter with the Akatsuki.

'Itachi-sensei and Kisame came up with the same information we already know. Three main villages, no order, and no orochimaru' I said as Tsunade looked unimpressed. 'but' I continued 'Deidara-kun and Sasori came up with the information that Orochimaru is in wave and has been recruiting massive amounts of missing ninja to join his various villages.' I told her as she seemed interested and pleased with this new information.

'It seems I was right in allowing you to keep going to the Akatsuki Yuki-san. This information is extremely valuable. You will go and meet with the Akatsuki once a week at your discretion and report directly to me if any new information is obtained. Orochimaru must be stopped I cannot afford him to attack us again. We lost too many in the last battle' she whispered as I nodded. I could understand her resentment against the loss of lives in the village she fought and salved to protect. 'You may go oh and bring this to Kakashi-san Sakura-chan said he was quite sick' she said as I sighed but took the little satchel of grey green powder.

'What is in this?' I asked as I sniffed it nearly gagging at the stench of the powder.

'Its an energizing medicine that helps boost the immune system and fights off infection and boosts energy levels' she explained as I kept the nasty substance as far away from me as possible.

'You know he's going to hate me forever if I make him take this' I told her as she shrugged with a smirk on her face.

'Well mutt face can get over it and get better. Have a good day Yuki' she said diving back into her stamping frenzy as I pocketed the powder and left.

'even poison doesn't smell that foul' Nori commented as I nodded.

'Poison smells like roses compaired to this stuff' I stated as a few chounin gave me weird looks as I passed them in the hall. Nori gave her raspy cat laugh as I decided a round or two fighting with the giant cat would do me some good.

'Fight me Nori!' I said running to the nearest training ground as the big cat gave chase. I laughed and cart-wheeled out of the way of her claws as she lunged and I flipped back. She feinted right as I caught her and grabbed her tail as she swatted to me and I quickly dove out of the way. She chased as I took to the trees as she cut me off and lunged tackling me as I flipped in the air so she landed on her back in the dirt as we rolled and I tussled with the big cat as she play bit my arm as I rolled and wrenched my arm out of her jaws and jumped backward landing on my hands and sliding as the big cat was on her feet and charging me again as she jumped and caught me by surprise as I had to grab the ruff on her neck and push off to avoid having my leg caught by her jaws as I landed rather painfully against a thick tree bough as I sat up and looked across at the large cat.

'Nice move' she commented as I nodded slightly winded as I heard clapping and looked down to see Neji with his new team of wide eyed genins as I smiled down at my cousin.

'Ah Neji-kun!' I grinned as he gave me a slight smirk.

'And that was an excellent example of taijutsu. It is one of the hardest of the jutsu to master because it requires strict training and practice.' He said as his team nodded like bobble heads.

'Aw don't bore them with the dry stuff Neji-kun. Teach them you were on Gai-kun's team right?' I asked as a shudder ran up the Hyuuga's spine at the memory.

'yes unfortunately. Now everyone meet Yuki-sensei she is my cousin' he said as the team already knew me but stared wide eyed at the fact that we were related as I smiled and waved.

'Wow Neji-sensei that's so cool that you're related to Yuki-sensei!' Tohru squealed as Kyo and Momiji just seemed slightly interested.

'when are we going to get to actual missions?' Kyo whined as I grinned.

'Oh just you wait the hokage has mission for all of the genin teams tomorrow' I said as Kyo looked stoked as Neji and I shared a laugh. Weeding gardens, babysitting, and painting fences were Genin missions not actually attacking people unbeknownst to the children.

'Alright we get to fight bad guys!' Kyo said high fiving Momiji who looked excited. I laughed as Nori padded over.

'You should check on Kakashi' Nori reminded me as I felt that I still had the disgusting powder with me before excusing myself and heading home. I made it back in record time I think I even made Nori tired from my fast pace as I slid in the backdoor.

'Kashi-kun I'm home!' I called as I heard nothing. Odd. I passed the kitchen. No Kakashi. Living room? Nope not there either. I climbed the stairs and poked my head in my room. The blankets were disheveled and there was a garbage can with tissues in it. So he had been here. I looked in Sasuke's room no one, guest room, no one as I opened the door to the bathroom to see Kakashi sprawled on the ground looking as white he resembled the white of the shower stall.

'Kakashi!' I gasped running over and dropping to my knees. He had a fever and his pulse was quite high as I assumed he had been throwing up as I stood and grabbed a thermometer from the first aid kit. He stirred as I ran my hands through his hair, I never understood anyone who could have pure silver hair at such a young age as I gently rolled him over onto his back. He was sweating as he shivered and opened tired mismatched eyes to look at me.

''s cold' he muttered as I stuck the thermometer under his arm, he groaned at me moving him at all as the little timer went off. Holy crap he had a bad fever. 38.7 Celsius and rising as I tossed the little instrument onto the counter.

'Kakashi, look you have a really bad fever and I need to cool you down alright love?' I said as he didn't seem to be quite with me as he suddenly lurched up and dry heaved into the toilet. I felt for the poor guy I really did as I realized I needed help.

'Nori!' I called as the big cat appeared instantly, she saw Kakashi and gave me a worried look as I nodded. 'Go find Sakura-chan or Ino-chan tell her I need help immediately and get her away from the boys if possible' I said as she nodded and vanished. I turned to Kakashi in time to catch him before he dropped to the tile floor from the rim of the toilet. He was heavy as a dead weight as my skin burned from the contact with his overly warm body. I was thankful that Kakashi was only wearing his boxers as I lay Kakashi on the floor in the recovery position as he seemed to be flickering between consciousness and hallucinations.

''uki…s'alright…Naruto can…use..'se..gan' he mumbled as I let the tub fill with lukewarm water. Hopefully this would bring down the fever a bit as I moved to gently rest his head in my lap.

'it's Ok Kashi-kun you're sick and hallucinating. No ones upset everyone's fine' I said quietly as he shakily grabbed my hand. It scared me seeing Kakashi this ill, why hadn't he told someone he was feeling this unwell. Silly male pride, I knew Kakashi was a recluse and didn't fit in well or quite understand social situations but Dammit he could've asked for help if he was this sick! He should be in the hospital if his fever was this high, it must be a pretty nasty bug as he gave a wracking cough that made me even more concerned as I heard the backdoor slam open.

'Yuki?!' it was Sakura.

'SAKURA UP HERE!' I called as I heard hurried steps before the bathroom door flew open. She looked shocked before dropping beside me and checking his pulse.

'he had a fever of 38.7 and it's rising quickly' I reported as she nodded and helped me stand him up. It was quite tricky because Kakashi did not want to move as I ended up holding up his dead weight while Sakura whipped off his boxers and she helped me lower him into the tub.

I have never seen a naked full grown man freak out at cold water before. But Kakashi did. As soon as we sat him down he bolted up snapping about how cold it was as I stripped off my jacket and yukata and forcibly held him in the tub as Sakura dumped buckets over his head.

'ITS COLD!' he whined as I gently rubbed his shoulder.

'I know Kashi-kun but you need to calm down alright?' I said as he stopped moving and let Sakura and I dump water over his head as he blinked lazily barely conscious or aware of what was going on. Before long he had passed out again as I had to quickly grab him before his head slumped under the water. Sakura sighed as did I as she blushed rather suddenly.

'What's your problem now?' I asked as she went even more red dumping another bucket of water over the jounin's hair as he grumbled in his sleep.

'Nothing!' she eeped as I looked down. Naked man. Naked sensei. Naked Kakashi. I burst out laughing and splashed her with water as she seemed to come back to herself.

'Seriously its just a penis you're a doctor I'm sure you've seen them MANY times before' I said winking at her as she went bright red once again and stuttered about getting some medicine to control the fever and settle his stomach. I laughed at my victory over the young girl as I left Kakashi for a second to grab the thermometer. I stuck it under his arm again as I was relived to see his temperature had returned to a normal 37.4 as I slid the thermometer into my pocket.

'Onee-chan?' I heard Sasuke ask as I wanted to bash my head off of the tub.

'What Kakashi is naked so if you want to see a penis come on in' I said as I heard some snickering from the hallway. I assumed it was Naruto as Sakura's pink hair swung around the corner as she carried a variety of medications. I passed her the powder Tsunade had given me as Sakura brightened. Supposedly the stuff was good as she mixed it with some tea.

'Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun help Yuki-chan get Kakashi-sensei out of the tub' she commanded as the two teens entered. Sasuke went bright red at seeing the unconscious man in the tub with me leaning over him with a firm grip on his upper arms as I lifted.

I heard a thud as Sakura gave a sigh before Naruto decided to help me as we lifted Kakashi out of the tub and wrapped him in towels before sitting him on the floor as Sakura went to attend to Sasuke who had recovered from his faint and was now gulping in air.

'Man you just fainted at the sight of Kakashi-sensei naked!' Naruto roared with laughter as Sasuke gave him a dark look.

'Don't worry about it Nii-chan' I said as I left to grab some clothes from Kakashi's house before transporting back with boxers and PJ'S pants. He did have them surprisingly as Naruto held Kakashi while I slid the clothing over his legs to rest on his hips.

I was glad he was unconscious otherwise he would've been fighting me the entire way saying he was fine and could do it himself. Stubborn ass. Naruto carried him back to my room as we put him back in bed. Sakura was a genus and had gone to the hospital in record time and managed to collect necessary drugs as we gave him the tea that had most of the medications dissolved in it as we all sat staring at him.

'he's really sick isn't he?' Naruto asked as I nodded. Naruto kept talking but I had tuned him out. Kakashi had really scared me there today. I ran a hand down his arm marveling how muscular he was without even looking it as he groaned in his sleep and his eyes fluttered.

'we should let him sleep' I said as we tiptoes out of the room. I made pizza that night as we all sat around in our Pj's and munched as I heard a shuffle upstairs. I ventured up to see what was wrong as I opened my bedroom door to see Kakashi standing on my bed looking terrified.

'Kakashi are you alright?' I asked as he seemed to recognize me and jumped off of the bed at me.

'You're okay!' he gasped grabbing me and crushing me against his chest. I could smell the sour tinge on his skin from the sickness as I gasped in a breath.

'Of course I'm okay, I was just downstairs' I said as he hadn't relaxed his grip and I noticed he was shaking. 'Kashi-kun?' I asked as he slumped against me as I felt my shoulder rapidly become soaked. He was scaring me. 'Kashi-kun?' I asked again as he crushed me against him if at all possible as I couldn't breathe.

'I…thought that…you had died. I didn't make it in time' he whispered as I hugged him closer. I loved Kakashi so much as I realized how thin he was. He may have been taller with broader shoulders but he was so wiry it was shocking. I looked up into his face, too pale face, his hair looked like charcoal compaired to how pale he was. For the first time I saw Kakashi. The real Kakashi. He was scared, utterly terrified, fragile, lonely. For one of the most formidable ninja that had ever lived, sharingan Kakashi, the copy cat ninja, he was the one who was vulnerable and completely lost.

'It's alright. I'm here, you saved me, we're alive' I said as he let out a shaky breath and drew in another one that seemed to catch in his throat as I rubbed his back and allowed him to calm down. Hallucinations were terrifying and this flu that Kakashi had managed to attain was powerful as I felt him lean against me utterly exhausted.

'Kashi-kun are you alright?' I asked as he gave a very Kakashi like chuckle and lay against me become almost rag doll like.

'Exhausted' he managed to mumble as I laughed and using some of my chakra pulled us both up. Normally lifting Kakashi would've been beyond even my taijutsu training but chakra was a wonderful power to harness as I literally picked him up and lay him back in my bed. He sighed as his hand snaked out and captured my wrist. His hands were rough and calloused from training and missions as I noticed for how long and spidery his hands looked they were incredibly strong and he was not letting me go anytime soon.

I smiled at the tall jounin as I grabbed my Pj's and changed before sliding into the bed behind him so he could lie with his head resting on my chest.

'I love you' he muttered hugging me like a five year old would a teddy bear. My heart soared as I ran my hand through his silky hair, he was one of the most feared ninja in the world and here he was hugging me like he was a little kid and I would vanish like an imaginary friend at a moments notice.

'I love you too Kashi-kun. I'm not leaving you anytime soon' I said as he retorted with a stuffy nosed sniff and a cough that had me rubbing his back to try to ease some of his pain. I must've drifted off, I had to stop doing that! As I felt that someone was watching me as I pushed Chakra into my eyes and looked out my window. Sitting there as calm as day was Kisame as I gave him and angry look. For the amount of chakra he had he certainly could hide it well as he gave me a cheeky grin.

'You look comfy' he teased as I glared at him.

'What do you want, Kakashi-kun is sick' I hissed as he held up his hands in surrender.

'Itachi-san sent me he wants you to meet him once a week at night for training.' Kisame reported as I sighed.

'I have a genin team now and missions do you want to run me ragged?' I asked remembering Itachi's rough training regime. At 17 I could handle it but 23 you were pushing things staying up for days at a time. Kisame gave a deep chuckle and ran a hand through his hair as Kakashi shifted in his sleep. I really hoped he wouldn't wake up but it was odd for him to sleep through something like this. He definitely was ill.

'Is "Kashi-kun" that ill? I thought I'd have to fight him to talk to you' he chuckled as I glared at him and ran a hand through Kakashi's hair to settle him again as he coughed in his sleep.

'Yes he is and don't mock me' I said as Kisame shook his head. 'When does Itachi-sensei want to have our sessions?' I asked as Kisame blinked in the darkness his silver eyes flashing momentarily.

'Uh I think Wednesday nights starting around 6 until 2am that is' he grinned as I rolled my eyes.

'It's nice that you find this amusing' I snapped as I heard footsteps outside of my room.

'Well goodnight see you Wednesday!' Kisame called as with a flash he was gone. The door to my room slid open as I noticed Sasuke poke his head in.

'Onee-chan are you awake?' he asked quietly as I shifted.

'Yea what's wrong Ni-chan?' I asked trying to sound groggy as I heard him walk in and come to stand by my bed.

'New blanket?' he smirked as I threw a pillow at him. Amazingly Kakashi slept on. What had Sakura given him elephant tranquilizers?

'What do you want I was sleeping until a moment ago' I said remembering to turn off my sharingan/byakugan eyes.

'I thought I heard or felt something….strange' he said as I blinked. Damn he had detected Kisame even if it had been minutely.

'Kakashi-kun was mumbling and was having a nightmare was that what you heard?' I asked lying through my teeth as Sasuke shook his head.

'No the chakra was different. Almost like Akatsuki' he said as I feinted surprise.

'really? Do you want me to check the perimeter?' I asked as Sasuke shook his head.

'No whatever it was is gone now. Maybe I'm getting paranoid' he mumbled to himself as I laughed.

'We're Ninja we're taught to be paranoid of everything!' I said suddenly realizing that Kisame got around all of the traps that I had set around my window. Sneaky bastard. I looked to see my exploding note was missing and my chakra control device looked like it had blown a circuit. I smirked, only Kisame could surge a control device until it broke.

'True enough, good night then' Sasuke said slipping out of my room as I sighed and snuggled down for some actual sleep.

The next morning dawned early… much too early as I rolled out of bed at Pakkun's incessant barking.

'Shut up Pakkun' I snapped as the pug gave me an irritated look as I groped around the bed for Kakashi's warmth. It wasn't there as I bolted out of bed to hear the shower running. I sighed and relaxed, maybe he was feeling better if he was having a shower.

'he's been in there for almost an hour' Pakkun said as I jumped from the bed ignoring the fact I was in my underwear picked the lock easily with a hair pin I kept on the ledge for stuff like this and opened the door. I looked to see Kakashi slumped in the shower as I turned off the water. He looked like he was sleeping as I checked him, he was fine just collapsed again as I slapped him gently on his cheeks trying to wake him.

'Kashi, Kashi, Kakashi, hey wake up' I asked hitting him gently as he flinched and multi-toned eyes met with mine as my head swam from the effects of the sharingan before I turned my own on. It was easier looking at someone who also had the sharingan with yours on as he groaned and put a hand to his head.

'Dammit I passed out again didn't I?' he asked as I nodded and gave him a hand up holding out a towel for him as he wrapped it around his hips. He ran a hand through his hair as I sat on the window ledge.

'you look like crap you should be in bed' I said as he shook his head.

'Cant, I have a mission, I'm already late' he sniffed as I handed him a tissue with a you're-not-leaving-this-house glare as he laughed at me. 'I'm fine!' he said staggering a little before coughs wracked his frame as I jumped up to keep him steady.

'No you're not 'fine'' I said and steered him back to my room. Sakura was coming up the stairs as she blushed and nearly dropped the tea and medications she was carrying. Kakashi didn't notice as I steered him right back to bed where Pakkun wagged his tail upon seeing his master well.

'How are you boss?' he asked as Kakashi coughed and sniffed.

'Miserable' he said taking the spare set of boxers and Pj pants from me as I turned around to give him some privacy as he changed. 'it's not like you haven't seen it before' Kakashi teased as I grinned and turned around.

'No but Sakura-chan would die if she walked in on her sensei naked.' I said as Kakashi gave a laugh that soon turned into a coughing fit as I forced him back into bed as his dogs piled on my bed. My eye twitched, I hated the smell of dog but I could deal as he lay back and Sakura came in. She had composed herself it seemed as she gave Kakashi his tea and meds as he immediately spat out the tea as I glared at him.

'What is in this?' he gagged as I forced the cup back in his hand.

'Cold medicine from the hokage' I said as he nodded and downed the entire thing and a single swig. I never knew how guys learnt to do that I had always envied that trick. Maybe it had something to do with their Adams apple? Who knew. He grimaced as there was a loud pop and Tsunade was standing in my room in between Sakura and I as she turned to glare at me.

'Kakashi Hatake you were supposed to leave on an S-ranked mission this morning!' she snapped at me before noticing that the person whom she was looking at she had to look down a little to see, not up, and was definitely female with purple not silver hair.

'Uh Hokage-sama, I'm over here' came Kakashi's rather sad sounding sniff and a coughing fit as Sakura ripped his mask down shoved a large spoonful of some red viscous liquid in his mouth as I saw a shudder course up his spine as Sakura held his nose and mouth until he swallowed like a little kid or animal.

I fought back a grin as Tsunade batted Sakura out of the way and looked Kakashi over herself. After a few moments of analyzing various things in his body with chakra she leant back and glared at him.

'You should know to take better care of yourself Kakashi-san' she said before passing Sakura a few different paper satchels that I assumed had more medicine in them.

'The flu and an infection. You never were one to do things the easy way' she said as I blinked. Infection? I hadn't seen a wound on him as she rolled him over and I noticed a very fine cut along his hip no bigger than a wire width that was red and inflamed.

'You are not going anywhere for at least a week. That is all I can say. I don't need my elite shinobi dropping dead from a cold.' She said and looked at me.

'I'd send you in his place but you have a team to train. Uchiha!' she barked as Sasuke appeared in the doorway already in his ANBU gear as she nodded and he took off out my window. How had they disabled my traps?! My eye twitched at the thought as Tsunade gently pulled me out of the room.

'Yukiko' she said as I looked at her and she stared back with level bronze eyes. 'Kakashi is very sick. It will take at least a week with the proper rest to get him back to normal. I know you're busy but I need Sakura at the hospital so you're going to have to look after him.' She said as I nodded. I had figured this would come down on me as I thought of how much sleep I was going to loose and flinched. Tsunade stared at me as I gave a rather cheesy grin and waved.

'No nothing, I'd be more than happy to look after Kashi-kun.' I said as Tsunade gave me a warm smiled and hugged me.

'Thank you Yukiko' she said as I froze. I had never been hugged by another older woman before and it felt… nice much like what I would assume a mother's embrace would feel like as she pulled back and we gave each other a smile. 'he's in good hands' she said before disappearing in a plume of grey smoke.

Maybe Tsunade did like me. Even just a little bit if I could keep even the copy cat ninja and the lone Uchiha male in line. I entered the room again as Kakashi looked at me with a tired smile.

'You should be sleeping, you're really sick and I have to go teach a team of brats' I said as he gave a weak laugh.

'yea, now you understand what it was like watching these three grow up' he smiled as I ran a hand through his hair. His fever was back as Sakura made him drink something. He made a face but didn't complain as I ran my thumb over his cheek as he leant his head into my palm. Within minutes he was asleep as I replaced my hand with a fluffy pillow I had slept on the night before.

I heard a sniff and turned to see Sakura with tears in her eyes and a huge happy grin on her face.

'What?' I whispered as she wrapped me in a warm hug.

'Thank you Yuki-chan, you bring him so much joy. I've never seen Kaka-sensei so comfortable around anyone enough to actually show them his face or fall asleep with them around.' She said as I nodded dumbly against her shoulder. Kakashi didn't fall asleep with other people around? How odd. I looked at the sleeping man and smiled.

'I think he's grown on me too' I said and patted the younger girl on her shoulder.

'I have to go train the twerps. I'll be back later to check on him' I said as she nodded and I changed into my clothes after a shower and breakfast before hitting the training grounds. As was presumed three little figures were sitting or standing on the bridge rapidly discussing something as I walked over.

'Good morning!' I called as I noticed they were all about 20 minutes early.

'Morning!' Kouga grinned his hair more tousled than normal as Momo had her hair in a long braid and Kiko had pig tails.

'Did you have a good sleep Yuki-sensei?' Kiko asked as I nodded.

'One of my friends is sick though so I haven't slept much' I grinned as they nodded.

'Look it's the mysterious snow baby!' I heard someone call cattishly as I turned to see Anko glaring at me with her squad. Nobu grinned and waved as Katsu just stared through my while Kagome glared at the girls on my team.

'Hello to you too Anko-san' I said rather blandly as she gave me a very slimy smile. I really did not like her and she obviously didn't like me in the slightest.

'I see you've met with your team. How about we pair up to spar for a bit?' she asked putting in the threat of a challenge as I calmly regarded her. I could hear Kouga growling slightly as I put a hand on his shoulder.

'No thank you Anko-san I was going to teach my students about chakra control today so you can see we're very busy' I said dismissing the other jounin and turning to face my students. I heard her scoff before telling her students that today would be the beginning of tracking and headed off in a different direction.

'Anko-sensei doesn't like you very much does she?' Momo asked quietly as I shook my head.

'No she doesn't.' I said as Kouga looked at my with dark wondering eyes.

'Why not?' he asked 'Did you hit her or beat her at something?' he asked as I shrugged.

'I don't know. She just doesn't like me very much' I said as I entered the training area.

'Ok, so what are we doing?' Kiko asked grinning as I took three Kunai from my holster.

'Chakra training, now as Iruka-sensei taught you everything a shinobi does involves chakra. The biggest factor is learning to control that chakra in a safe and manageable way. Now what I want you three to do is retrieve these kunai from the tops of these trees. But you cannot use you hands. You have to walk up these trunks with just your feet and chakra. I'll show you.' I said as I tossed the three kunai high into the barks of the trees where they stuck.

'Now gather your chakra at the bottoms of your feet. Depending on your system you will need to fine tune your chakra.' I said this as I walked up the tree as the trio let out gasps and cools! I walked under a branch over the trunk as I plopped down on a branch.

'your turn!' I said as Kouga was the first to start. I knew he was going to be stubborn and use brute chakra force as he made it about an eighth of the way up before the force of his chakra crushed part of the trunk.

'DAMMIT!' he cursed jumping and landing on his feet.

'Fine tune your chakra Kouga-kun!' I called as I beckoned for the girls to take a try. Kiko used to little and Momo just stared at the tree. I sighed, we had a long way to go and this was the beginning.


	28. Devil's advocate

Next Saturday morning I found myself at the local coffee shop down the road from the house staring into a dark black cup of coffee. The last week had been exhausting. Between caring for Kakashi, keeping Naruto and Sasuke from fighting and destroying the house, training the genin and after mastering trees we had moved onto water. That had been a disaster having to teach Momo had to swim on top of her training.

I sighed and took a gulp of the caffeinated heaven putting my head down as I felt another migraine coming on. Training with Itachi was…infuriating. He demanded the utmost perfection and had become quite skilled in many more ways that he had originally when he had been my teacher. I absent minded rubbed the new scar through my mask that cut across my cheek. I had lost so much sleep in the last week it was ridiculous.

I heard the bell of the door jingle and I stared into my coffee cup hoping I could crawl into its delicious warmness and sleep for a few years. Anko had been an absolute pain as had Tsunade. I thought Tsunade was warming up to me. Not a chance. I had been sent on the most ridiculous missions with my genin which usually involved them doing work and me sleeping on a roof or in a tree but still a few had been irritating like painting some woman's fence. That had deteriorated into a paint fight between Kiko and Momo both chasing Kouga for something he had said. Had me in heaps of trouble not only from the client but from Tsunade as well and Anko popped up every chance she could get to taunt me or demand to fight or make our genin compete against one another.

I took another swig and grimaced as my migraine throbbed just barely contained. Kakashi was better, that much I was thankful for. He had been really down and out with the flu for the last week and had really taken a toll on my sleep with his nightmares that seemed to be recurring.

The waitress filled my cup again as I thanked her and downed half of it ignoring how it scalded my tongue. I put my head on the table and groaned. As much as I loved Konoha it really was trying to do me in.

'Yuki-chan you don't look so well' I heard Ino's obnoxious voice as I put my hands over my ears as her voice made my head throb.

'Not so loud Ino please' I begged as I heard the chairs around me scrape as people sat down.

'Oh do you have a headache? Here!' she said as I felt warm fingers before a soothing cool wave of chakra washed through my head. It made me shiver as the pain of the migraine vanished and I felt better than I had all week. Maybe if I really tried I could drown in my coffee cup… would that even work?

'So are you going to the festival tonight for the march of the shinobi?' It was Chouji's voice as I looked up and he visibly flinched.

'Wow what happened to you?' Ino asked as I noticed Shikamaru lounging in his chair looking as uninterested as ever.

' My Genin's cant control their chakra, Kakashi-kun was really sick, keeping Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun from tearing down the house, Training in general and I've lost a lot of sleep' I yawned as Chouji and Ino nodded.

'You look like death' Ino blurted as I gave her an irritated look.

'Thanks' I sneered as Shikamaru gave a chuckle.

'Don't tell other women they look terrible Ino-chan' Shikamaru said as Chouji sniggered.

'Yeah you'd know with your mother' he said as I saw the young man flinch. I guessed he had a strict mother as Ino sighed.

'ANYWAY, what are you going to be wearing tonight?' she asked gazing at me as I downed the last of my coffee waving the waitress over again. Six cups of coffee now I had had as I took a few sips from my seventh.

'Clothing?' I said as she gave me an irritated look and the boys laughed.

'That's always a good option' Shikamaru grinned as Ino looked annoyed.

'You know what I mean' she said waspishly as I shrugged.

'I dunno I might have some of my Ice ambassador clothing. They always were nice to wear. Never did like Kimonos' I muttered as Ino was aghast.

'You're not wearing a kimono?!' she said as I raised an eyebrow and took a sip of coffee.

'Why does this bother you so much?' I said around my cup as the boys also looked confused. I really could be a bitch when I wanted to be.

'It's tradition! All Konoha shinobi wear Kimonos!' she said as I shrugged.

'I'm not from Konoha' I took another swig.

'Yes you are you're half Uchiha, half Hyuuga!' she snapped as Chouji and Shikamaru looked at me. Well the cats out of the bag, have fun with this on Hiashi you cold prick.

'You're related to the Hyuugas?' Chouji said as I nodded.

'I was a fuck up, I mean, one night stand between Hiashi and Mikoto.' I said taking another sip of coffee as the two young men stared at me.

'Well shit' Shikamaru said and rubbed the back of his neck.

'So…you must be a really highly accomplished ninja' Chouji said as I shook my head.

'No, sadly I have the papers that say I am but really…I… hate fighting and I always seem to make stupid mistakes that nearly get me killed. It's strange I know I do these things but it seems like I cant correct them' I laughed as Shikamaru recovered fastest and shrugged.

'You're human not a machine you make errors.' He said as I looked sadly into my coffee. Yes, I was human and those errors cost my best friends their lives and mine nearly a few times. Itachi had once told me I had an angel watching over me for all the times I've survived after nearly dying.

I finished my coffee and left the money on the table and got up.

'Where are you going?' Ino called as I waved over my shoulder.

'To bed' I stated before teleporting home. I landed on my bed and snuggled into the blankets. Even with the coffee I was still exhausted and was asleep within minutes. Little did I know I slept the entire day as I was shaken awake roughly.

'Yuki, get up we only have a half hour until the march' I blinked as I saw Kakashi's gravity defying hair above me as I smiled still half asleep and pulled him into a hug. He laughed and I felt him kiss my forehead before pulling me up to a sitting position.

'I know, all I want to do is sleep too.' He said as I sighed. We had both been run ragged. Tsunade was making everyone work double time. I had not only been with my genin team but sent out on various scouting missions a few B-class and A-class tracking down people as well as training with Itachi and making sure Kakashi was alright. I knew he had quite literally just arrived home from an assassination mission in river and probably wanted to pass out on a soft bed as much as I did.

'Then miss the damn parade. I thought you hated traditions' I muttered against his chest. I was being childish and I didn't care I was exhausted as he laughed and hugged me again.

' Well, because people want to see the head of the Uchiha household and since I'm dating you I have to go.' He said as I cursed rather loudly. He laughed and pulled me in for a quick kiss before getting off of the bed.

'Still sucks' I said as he laughed and pulled me toward the bathroom. Kakashi playfully shoved me into the stall as 'to save time' as he put it jumped in with me. I had to shove him away a few times to try to wash my hair as he blocked the spray because he was so damn tall.

I was wrapped in a towel with another around my hair as I noticed Sasuke give me a sly smile before stepping into his bedroom. One of these days I was going to knock that cocky little jerk into line as I headed into my room. The first thing I noticed was a long black box had been set out on my bed. I heard Kakashi talking to someone in the hall as I went over to investigate.

The box was completely black with no markings of any kind as I noticed a little square of red at one corner. I took the little slip and opened it. It was a note.

_To the most unique, beautiful and precious person I know. My snowflake, Love Kashi_

I felt like I might cry at the little note scribbled in his own uniquely tilted characters as I gently lifted the lid of the box. Inside nestled in layers of blue tissue paper was an elegant white silk kimono. Little patterns of snowflakes and blossoms covered it as I pulled it out. I noticed that the ends were dyed an elegant blue as it faded into white the closer it was to the chest. The snowflakes went from light blue to white on the blue and the blossoms went from a light lilac to a vivid violet near the hem. The obi was a light blue with lilac and yellow designs over its surface before ending in a bow. I was shocked as I felt how fine the silk was. This must've cost a small fortune!

'Do you like it?' I heard Kakashi's smooth baritone for the doorway as I turned. He looked alarmed as I realized I was crying. I grinned and wiped my eyes on my towel as he stepped closer to me.

'I love it!' I said tackling him into a hug as he laughed and kissed me. I pulled back and smiled at him, it was the best present ever. As he pulled the towel off of my head, I wondered how much this thing cost. It must've been too much money I really couldn't accept it.

'Kashi-kun I love it but, this is so expensive! I can't accept something like this, you'd be broke even with your jounin pay' I said looking into his mismatched eyes as they shone with something that I had known was humour and love.

'Let's just say I have some money saved for…special occasions' he said giving me another sound kiss that left me breathless and dizzy. I looked up at him and crushed him against me as he laughed and kissed my forehead. I had never been given anything so extravagant in my life let alone and entire actual silk formal kimono. 'Try it on I want to see if it fits' he said as I nodded. I turned as I notice something had been set on the box while I wasn't looking. It was a mask-tank but instead of it's normal black it was made of a light lilac colour. I gently took the fabric and noticed how soft it was as I looked at him and he smiled. 'Sasuke had that tailored for you' he said as I smiled. I knew how Kakashi felt betrayed by Sasuke and hadn't an ounce of faith in him anymore but I knew he was trying to cope even if it was just for me.

I put on the mask-tank and layered on my Kimono. I noticed that cheekily he had bought one that was designed so that someone had to do up the obi for me as I looked at him with a smile.

'Please help?' he smiled and took the stiffened piece of cloth as I held the front together. Kimono's were stifling really after the six layers I was wearing of various kimonos. Kakashi was always extremely gentle as his hands ghosted over the silk with a gentle but firm pressure as he knotted the obi and created the bow.

'There all done' he said putting his arms around me and pulling me against him as I smiled and reached back to kiss his cheek. A small smile crossed his face as he let go and handed me my tabi socks and wooden sandals. I winced, this was going to be painful I hated the wooden sandals they were so painful to walk in for long periods of time. I never knew how Jiraiya could do it so easily.

'Go get changed' I told him as he nodded and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Kakashi seemed to like that jutsu it seemed as I stepped gingerly on the new shoes. I hadn't grown up using these so I was clumbsy at best on them I had only managed to walk halfway across the room when Kakashi was back.

I did a double take. Kakashi was stunning. Even though Kimono's were very feminine looking Kakashi just seemed to fit his. It was a deep cream with howling wolves that came over his right shoulder and around his left hip. There was a wind like pattern in grey and blue around it as he was also wearing tabi and wooden sandals but had his Tanto strapped to his hip. He had his usual mask on but this one was grey not black as he tossed me Akane.

'See something you like?' he asked as I grinned wolfishly.

'You know I wouldn't be opposed to staying here' I said wrapping my arms around his waist as he gave me an eye smile.

'neither would I but your brother might get suspicious' he whispered as I blushed. Woops forgot about that as I sighed in resignation. Damn being the head of a family. Kakashi laughed. 'come on we're going to be late' he said as I took two steps and remembered my jade barrettes. Quickly I grabbed them and pinned up my hair along with the senbon needle hair sticks the boys had bought me and slipped my Tanto into my Obi and Akane across my back as Kakashi smiled and gave me a quick kiss before taking my hand.

I could hear all of the noise downstairs as I came into the living room to squeals of delight from the girls. It looked like everyone I had met had decided to meet in my living room before going to the parade as a myriad of kimono colours made my eyes burn.

'Yuki-chan you're so CUTE!!!' Sakura and Ino squealed running over and fingering the silk of my kimono.

'Oh my gods this is real silk! And hand painted too where did you get this? It must've cost a fortune!' Ino gasped and ran her hands along my long sleeves as I blushed. Kakashi had moved off to talk with Tsunade as I caught them both glancing over to look at me.

'It was a gift' I said as both girls broke out into dreamy smiles.

'That's so romantic!' Sakura giggled as I smiled and noticed Hinata talking with Kiba as I managed to fight through the sea of silk to get to where they were standing.

'Hey Sis, Kiba-kun!' I called as they looked up and smiled.

'You look good Yuki-chan' Kiba said as I smiled.

'Thank you. You look nice yourself Kiba-kun and Hinata-chan you're gorgeous' I said as the shy girl turned crimson. She was wearing an all white kimono with lavender petals that dotted the hem and cuffs.

'Thank you Onee-chan' she said as I gave her a hug.

'No problem. Now teach me how to walk in these' I said pointing to my wooden shoes as Hinata giggled and gave mea quick lesson as I picked it up rather quickly. Still hurt like no tomorrow as Kakashi came to stand beside me.

'We're about to being' he said with a little distain as I kissed his cheek.

'Don't worry about it Kashi-kun. I know you hate these trivial traditional festivals but let's just make everyone else happy. We don't have to do this next year if you don't want to' I said as Kakashi gave me a smile but I knew he would follow me to the ends of the earth no matter what.

'Whatever you want' he said as I laughed and punched him. For someone who could be so cold and aloof he was a great lover as he growled and grabbed me in a fierce hug. There were a few cheers as I blushed and hid my face in his chest. Kakashi was something else as Tsunade commanded for the genin to start moving out as well as the chounins followed by the specialist jounin's the regular jounin's, family heads, ANBU and then herself. I had no idea where to go as Kakashi pulled me back so that we were just in front of Tsunade along with Shizune and two ANBU that I didn't recognize as the girl gave me a sweet smile and the man gave me a level cool stare and a nod to Kakashi.

ANBU; once you were in it no one forgot who you were it seemed as Kakashi grabbed my hand and I smiled at him giving him confidence. Kakashi was a shy person, he hated crowds and loud places preferring to be left alone and to his own devices. He really was like a breath of fresh air for me. Even though he could be infuriating when he was stuck on his opinion versus mine, but compaired to most relationships ours was easy and relaxed.

'It's good to see you relaxed Hatake' Tsunade commented as Kakashi I noticed had reverted to his lazy slouch and carefree attitude.

'Well, it's quite easy when you have someone relaxing to be around' he said as I smiled and looked back at Tsunade as she raised an eyebrow at me. She didn't believe Kakashi because she found me incredibly irritating probably because she knew she had no control over me because of my international status.

It was a quiet evening as the parade began. It was always just before sundown as we marched into town. It wasn't so much a march as a slowly walking mob of people as civilians bowed and cheered as their beloved protectors made themselves visible to their wards. As Kakashi, Tsunade and myself came around a corner a huge cheer went up for the hokage as I smiled. Tsunade was very loved here as she smiled and waved as little kids ran over to give her flowers and such. One girl even ran over to Kakashi and handed him a little carnation as he thanked her before she blushed and ran away to hide behind her mother.

He turned to me and slid the little pink flower behind my ear as I smiled. At that moment I realized that I would never leave Kakashi. As long as both of us were still alive and I hoped that would be for a long time we would still be together. He gave me one of his special eye smiles as I noticed his eyes held an inordinate amount of emotion as his normally warm brown eyes seemed like liquid chocolate that would wrap me in warmth forever.

'I love you' he whispered in my ear as I noticed we were nearing the festival as people continued to cheer anew when they saw Tsunade as she was being showered in flowers.

'I love you too Kashi-kun' I grinned as he gave me hand a squeeze and we arrived at the festival. Naruto and the others bounded over grinning from ear to ear at the sight of our clasped hands.

'Let's go play the goldfish game!' Naruto said as I laughed and agree as I met my genin squad already there trying to catch the little fish and not the turtles swimming around.

'Go Kouga-kun!' Kiko cheered as I noticed the boy was incredibly fast at catching the little wriggly fish. Momo was watching amazed as Naruto laughed and cheered on Kouga as well as the boy caught all but two fish in the tank in under 5 minutes.

'You have the best record of all time!' he laughed and handed the three genin their own little goldfish. I ruffled Kouga's hair as he showed me the little swimming creature.

'Good work Kouga-kun! I think you even put Naruto-kun to shame' I teased as Naruto stuck his tongue out at me as he battled with Sasuke to catch more fish. I rolled my eyes as I noticed Kakashi was having a shuriken throwing contest with Gai at a nearby booth as I wandered over. My team followed as I watched Gai going nuts while Kakashi looked extremely bored but was throwing six shuriken at a time and getting perfect hits every time.

'Go Kakashi-sama!' Kiko and Momo cheered as I smiled and put my hands on their shoulders as Kouga laughed at the clerk who was hiding trying to stay out of the jounin's contest and the flying deadly weapons. Rigged games were no match for ninja as Kakashi won by and extra three points when time was up.

'Alas Kakashi-san you once again bested me but we shall have a rematch sometime!' he said with a blinding smile and disappeared to talk with Asuma and Iruka as the shop clerk asked what prize Kakashi wanted. I noticed Momo was eyeing a panda as Kakashi looked at me.

'Panda' I said as Kakashi gave me a weird look but asked for the panda as I grabbed it. I loved stuffed animals but it was really for Momo as I handed the stuffed creature to the shy little girl. Her eyes went huge as she blushed crimson.

'th-thank you. Yu-yuki-s-s-ensei!' she stammered as I caught her before she fainted as Kouga sighed and gently hit her face trying to rouse her. Eventually she came round as Kakashi smiled and handed her the bear as Kiko grinned widely. She knew how much Momo looked up to the jounin as she clutched the large stuffed bear.

'Thank Kakashi-sensei not me Momo-chan' I said as the girl blushed an even brighter shade of red. Kakashi just smiled beneath his grey mask.

'You're welcome Momo-chan' he said as Momo fainted and I caught her. Deftly grabbing the bear before it fell to the street as Kouga rushed over to make sure his teammate would be okay, passing out was never good for a person. I laughed and moved her so that she was lying bridal style in my arms. She was surprisingly light for a twelve year old as Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

'We should go somewhere quiet so Momo-chan can rest' Kiko piped up as I smiled at her and Kouga.

'That's a good idea, should we go to the park?' I asked as they nodded and ran ahead as I carried Momo. Kakashi walked silently beside me his sandals not even making the usual click clack that mine did as I concentrated on not falling with the young girl in my arms. It was quite the daunting task.

'Have you ever thought of having a family Yuki-chan?' Kakashi asked out of the blue as I turned to stare openly at him. A family? The thought hadn't crossed my mind since I had been a little girl when dreams were reality before you were slapped by life into understanding what reality actually was. I smiled and looked at Momo as she breathed evenly almost like she was asleep.

'No, not since I was still an academy student myself' I said as Kakashi gave a 'hn' and returned to his usual goofy behaviour as I heard Iruka's light laugh and Kiba's gruff chuckle as we turned the corner to see Kouga showing his cousin his fish and Kiko showing Iruka the panda Kakashi had won for Momo as the adults heads looked up to see us approach. A wolfish grin crossed Kiba's face as he ruffled his cousin's hair.

'This might become a common sight, eh Iruka-sensei?' he laughed as I noticed how Momo must've looked cradled in my arms asleep. I blushed hotly as Kiba laughed and Kakashi shrugged.

'It probably will be Kiba-kun' Kakashi said completely blowing the comment out of the water with his blasé approach. I hid a smile as Momo stirred and opened her eyes.

'Wh-what happened?' she stuttered as I set her down and she looked at me with wide pale eyes.

'You fainted, here, Kiko-chan grabbed your bear before he fell' I said waving Kiko over as Momo blushed again but took the bear and hugged it smiling at me and the silver haired jounin beside me. I noticed Iruka had a huge smile stretched across his face pulling his scar across his nose taught as Kiba looked like the cat that ate the canary.

'Yuki-sensei you have to have some of the Tako Yaki!' Kouga said as I laughed and followed.

'have you ever had festival food before yuki-sensei?' Kiko asked as I shook my head.

'I haven't had much food from this side of the world. It's all so different from what I used to eat back home' I smiled as they loaded me up with different types of food as Kakashi trundled along watching the kids and I with good humour.

They made me try octopus balls, which were amazingly delicious, BBQ noodles that were an instant favorite, a pancake type of food, you could get just about anything on a stick. I had bananas, fruit covered in sugar, deep fired chicken, a snow cone, as I collapsed onto the big red blanket Kiba's family had brought as a spare as I rubbed my distended stomach.

'I haven't eaten this much in years!' I laughed as Kakashi said more fluidly than I had my team sat around us. Kouga had eaten nearly twice what I had and was currently chewing on some sweet dumplings as Kiko was downing her snow cone and Momo was hugging her panda.

'But you didn't eat much at all!' Kouga protested as I felt Sasuke's chakra flare as he walked over to our little blanket. I ruffled his hair as he glared at me.

'Yes I did, besides you'll get really fat if you eat like that all the time' I said as the genin pouted and stuffed another dumpling in his mouth. I looked up to see my brother staring at me as Nori padded over and stretched out beside me resting her head in Kakashi's lap.

'Yuki-chan!' Naruto called as he Sakura and Hinata bounded over. They were all out of breath as the collapsed on the blanket laughing. I rolled my eyes as the genin shuffled to make room. They all feared and respected the older ninja as Momo shuffled to sit even closer to me that normal as she peeked around me to look at Naruto.

Momo had always been shy but I think she looked up to the older men. Kakashi shifted so I could sit and use his chest as a backrest as Momo shifted as well, still trying to stay hidden by my massive sleeves as the fireworks started.

The array was stunning. I had never seen such beautiful or extravagant fireworks as they lit up the sky in images of butterflies and dragons. Coloured screamers flew through the sky making Momo jump and shuffle to nearly sit in my lap.

I leant back into Kakashi as he sighed and leant back on his hands as we stared at the sky.

'it's so beautiful' I heard Sakura sigh and Sasuke give a 'hn' in agreement as Hinata was kissing Naruto soundly. When had the kunoichi become so bold? Maybe having her life long crush all to herself had given the poor girl some confidence.

I glanced back at Kakashi as he was gazing at the sky with his relaxed bored stare. I knew he was enjoying himself as his eyebrow was crooked up in a half smile as he caught my stare and looked down at me.

'Is there something you need?' he asked as I smiled and shook my head before turning to stare back at the sky. A firework went up that split and became the village symbol as a huge cheer went out amongst the crowd. I smiled, spring, the beginning of a new year a new change of pace as the frigid winter melted away leaving room for summer as A soft smile seemed to cross my face as a devious idea came to me. Momo had stopped hiding and was talking with Kouga and Kiko as I turned slightly in Kakashi's lap once again to look at him.

He was watching me with a hint of amusement as I grinned and tackled him into a hug. His back hit the ground with a thump as our legs went into the air as the other teens and children erupted into giggles as Kakashi burst out into laughter. Not his normal little chuckle but full blown laughter. The sound was so enchanting I froze just listening. Kakashi had an amazing laugh, it was a shame he didn't laugh more as I hugged him tightly. He returned the favour still chuckling as there was an odd explosion. That didn't sound like a firework as even the ground seemed to shake with the force of the explosion. Quickly I jumped up as did the other ninja and looked up for the commotion.

Bright orange flames licked the sky as massive volumes of smoke poured into the sky from where the front gate was. My chest felt like a lead weight as civilians were fleeing with the aid of other shinobi and more ninja were rushing to inspect what had happened to the gates.

'Yuki-chan take the genin to the hideout then meet me at the house' Kakashi commanded as I nodded and shucked off my wooden sandals. Kakashi and the others disappeared with a transportation jutsu as I looked at me team. The three genin were scared stiff as I shook them slightly trying to get them to peel their eyes off of the site ahead of them.

'Come on we have to go!' I said as they sprang into action. We ran along the field toward the hokage mountain. People were being evacuated to a safe house that the ANBU had hidden deep within the mountain as Genma stood just outside with Iruka ushering people inside as I arrived with my genins. Iruka looked surprised as I looked at my team, crouching down to their level.

'Listen, Do what Iruka-sensei tells you to do okay? I cant come with you I have to protect the village so make sure everyone inside is safe okay?' I said as Momo and Kiko nodded tears in their eyes as Kouga looked shaken and frightened.

'We want to come with you!' Kouga snapped as I smiled and ruffled his hair.

'No, we need you if something should happen to us older ninja. You guys are the next to protect the village.' Another explosion cut me off as there were shouts and a few screams as Iruka looked at Genma. Both chounin and jounin looked concerned as I gave my team a hug. 'Go, be safe' I said as Momo broke out into wails. Poor girl, he really wasn't cut out to be a shinobi as Iruka moved them all along in the tunnel.

'You look stunning Yuki-san. Good luck' Iruka smiled as I nodded and used the teleportation jutsu to jump back to the house. I landed in my room and dressed for a battle in my dragon armor. That's when something cool and hard hi my foot. I looked down to see my dragon mask.

Gently I picked it up and turned it over as a little slip of white paper fell out of it. I caught it and opened it to see the elegant script within written by none other than Itachi.

'Found this, thought you might want it'- Itachi Uchiha

Well as least Itachi was still the same impersonal persona s ever as I grabbed my chakra cloak in case I needed reinforcements. Another explosion rattled the timber of the old house as I met with the group in the kitchen. People were shouting over one another as Kakashi bellowed for quiet. It was scary. The normal silent jounin making such a horrific noise startled me as the noise died down.

'Now, it is orochimaru that is attacking Konoha. He has amassed and army that is flooding through trying to destroy the town. We need to take down orochimaru before the masses, he has amounted more ninja than we have so at all costs go for Orochimaru.' Kakashi said as we all nodded now dressed for battle as he outlined out plan of attack. Nori had shown up as she looked at me with large green eyes. She was ready for an attack I could tell by her stance as we broke and headed out.

I landed on a rooftop to survey the damage. It was a nightmare, I thought I had landed in the seventh circle of hell. Flames roared eating building as missing-nin flooded through the streets fighting all of our shinobi. Bodies littered the streets as Nori growled. It made me want to cry. Beautiful Konoha, my home, was burning. People were screaming as they died and the dark bodies seemed to crawl over everything. My mind reeled, this wasn't supposed to happen! How could this have happened and no one saw it coming? My mind raced through all of the information I had collected over the last few weeks as Nori interrupted me.

'Ready to find that bastard?' Nori asked as suddenly everything clicked into place. Amassing missing-nin, sound in chaos, the patrols, Orochimaru's disappearance, my kidnapping, the torture, the frightening warning pinned to the city gate.

It was all planned.

This was an entire complex plan, Orochimaru had dissolved Sound as a cover for him to watch who we sent on patrols to count how many jounin and chounin we had. Then, after knowing our numbers, he could amass an army large enough to distract us while he did two things. First, destroy Konoha and secondly, get the forbidden jutsu scroll.

Everything clicked into place as Nori looked at me.

'I know that face, you just thought of something' she said as I explained how everything had just connected as her fur bristled. She looked at me seriously 'You have to find Tsunade and tell her what is going on' Nori said as I nodded and we took off for hokage tower.

Getting to the city centre was harder than imagined as the missing nin had poured themselves out over every city roof and street. Twisting I gutted a particularly smelly rock ninja as he grunted and fell off the roof as I kicked his shoulder to pull Akane out of his gut. I parried a blow from behind as a completely masked ninja that looked like he had been hiding in a mud hole for years used a silencing jutsu. It was quite disorientating as the world went completely silent and I had to focus on just using sight and smell to know where he was.

Nori thankfully finished him off as I gave her a signal and ripped his head from his shoulders in one powerful stroke. His head flew off the side of the building as more ninja seemed to crawl up and onto the roof.

'WE don't have time for this!' I shouted, I couldn't even hear my own voice as I jumped on Nori and she leapt cleanly from rooftop to roof top. Some of the ninja dared to send ninjutsu after us as I blocked with the best of my ability using a concealing jutsu for both Nori and I. Oddly enough it seemed that I could draw upon the chakra within the cloak the Akatsuki gave me giving me an insanely large reserve to draw from thanks mostly to Kisame.

I could feel Nori's voice rumble as she spoke to me but I couldn't hear anything at all as she gave me a sympathetic glance. Maybe Tsunade would know how to counter it as a massive explosion rocked the city sending fragments of charred concrete to rain upon the town. I caught a piece and threw it at a missing nin catching him smack between the eyes and killing him before he could kill the wounded chounin he had been advancing on.

I surveyed the damage. We were taking heavy casualties and the rouges just seemed to continue pouring into Konoha. We needed help badly. Hokage tower loomed as we landed on the roof outside of Tsunade's office and hammered on the glass. I watched as Shizune came running from a backroom as did Tsunade as they unlocked the window and I slid in.

I knew they were shouting and pointing but I couldn't hear them as Nori explained what had happened to me. Tsunade immediately came over and put a finger in my ear. I felt a jolt as my ear ached before sound returned to my senses.

'Now, what is the problem?!' she snapped as I sighed.

'I now know what Orochimaru's plans are, attacking the city is a diversion. He wants the forbidden jutsu scroll. That's what he was torturing me about. The location of the scroll and after that failed, which he knew it would he waited for us do to exactly what you did. He watched and counted our patrols as we check in on sound. All of this was planned!' I said as Tsunade looked shocked and Shizune fainted.

'Fuck, why didn't I see that!' Tsunade cursed and punched the wall causing a crater to spiderweb out from the force of the blow. She turned flaming amber eyes to me.

'We're taking on heavy casualties and we need reinforcements. As much as I Hate it I need you to bring in the Akatsuki. They're the only ones I know that can help us now. We also need to hide the scroll.' She said taking out a tiny little slip of a scroll no bigger than my thumb. I blinked. That was the scroll.

'There is a size jutsu on it' Nori explained as I nodded. Tsunade looked at me gravely.

'we need to hide it as best we can. Preferably with a person. Do you know who?' she asked as my mind flew, I needed an inconspicuous person someone who could fade into the background and disappear at a moments notice. Immediately the perfect person came into mind view. Momo. The girl was so quiet and plain that she could hide in a crowd anywhere. Plus she was a genin, no one would suspect such a low ranking ninja to carry the best secret of the village.

'I know who' I said as Tsunade nodded. I pulled my Akatsuki cloak out of my sash and put it on as Tsunade winced. She obviously wasn't accustomed to seeing the cloak without remembering difficult times. I smiled apologetically and climbed back onto Nori. The Akatsuki would be on their way immediately. Itachi was one to be prompt and he was scary when he wanted to be. Nori hit a nearby rooftop and looked at me.

'Where are we going?' she asked as I looked down at her.

'Hokage mountain. We have to find Momo' I said as Nori gave me a surprised look before she gave a firm nod.

'That's a good plan. No one would suspect her' she said as I agreed. I was glad for my mask as I pushed chakra into my eyes. The world exploded into colour as everything became vividly apparent. Konoha was being reduced to ashes and ruin as I saw Tsunade bound away toward the worst of the battle where we all knew orochimaru would be waiting.

I created three clones of myself and Nori then consealed ourselves and headed toward the mountain. I hoped Kakashi was alright as I deftly beheaded a rogue and impaled another as we tried to remove as many threats as possible on out way. It was tedious. There were so many of them as I was hit more than a few times by shuriken and kunai. I was luck enough to not be hit with any of the really dangerous weapons as Nori was able to dodge most of their attacks. I was glad that I had trained with the large cat now as I dodged a punch aimed for my head and cut the man's throat as he fell to the roof top with a strangled gurgle.

We had to make it to the mountain as I gave up and used a teleportation jutsu. I landed with a thump on a slick surface as my feet gave way and I fell back onto my rear as my tail bone protested at the rough treatment.

The stench of blood seemed to coat everything as I paled. Oh no, please no. let them be alright. Nori appeared beside me as I noticed the dead bodies around me. Some were Konoha shinobi others were rogues as I saw Izumo's wheezing frame leaning against a wall where he had a massive shuriken sticking out of his back.

'IZUMO!' I yelled getting to my feet and catching the young man before he fell. He was bleeding severely as he looked up at me as if dazed and confused. He had lost too much blood. I pulled out the shuriken as he screamed in pain as I did my best to heal what I could so that he might live.

'Yuki-san….the, civilians…they managed to get to… the back chambers. Please… get them out before they find them' he panted as Nori gave a rumble of agreement. I nodded and set him gently against the wall. Izumo wouldn't die, but he had been close when I had appeared.

'Izumo-san stay here and rest, we'll send help okay?' I said as he nodded and I wiped some blood off of his lip and he gave a shaky nod.

't-tell, Iruka-san that… I-I'm sorry about Genma-san and Kotetsu-kun' he wheezed as dread settled in my stomach. Were Kotetsu and Genma dead? Or maybe they had escaped? I nodded and looked at Nori she shook her head.

'They're fine they're not amongst the casualties here' she said as I felt a little better and took too into the gloom. It was eerie running along the tunnels as all I could hear was my breath and my footsteps slapping on the bare earthen floor. The tunnels seemed to stretch forever as soon I heard frightened voices. I turned right only to see a caved in wall as I backtracked and continued down the hall. The voices became louder as my footsteps ran by another caved wall and everything fell silent.

'They're here' Nori said as I nodded. I pulled my arm back and infused the muscles with chakra as I slammed my hand into the rubble causing the boulders to fly away and create a little entry way as I scrambled through.

'DON'T HIT ME!' I waved me arms as I saw the various shinobi armed and ready to strike as I pulled off my mask. There was relieved sigh as I was tackled into three different hugs from my genin team.

'YUKI-SENSEI!' they bawled as I hugged them and Iruka jogged over.

'What's happening outside?' he asked as I frowned.

'It's not good. We're taking heavy casualties. I found Izumo-kun by the front of the cave. He's the only survivor. He said to tell you that he's sorry but Genma-san and Kotetsu-san have disappeared. We have no idea where they went' I said as Iruka looked pained and the colour drained from his face. My genin were scared at the others from the class came and crowded around me. I held my team in my arms, I wanted them all to be safe. I knew that hiding them was killing them. They wanted to help save their home but we needed them here. They were our future and needed to be kept safe. I put a hand on Iruka's shoulder to steady him.

'Izumo-kun will be alright I healed him as much as I can but if you can get him from the front of the caves and bring him here he'll be safer.' I said as Iruka nodded and left shouting orders.

I looked down at Momo who was crying as I gently took her , Kiko and Kouga off to the side. They all looked incredibly scared and worried as I gave them another hug.

'Listen. Momo-chan I need you to hide and guard this with your life. You must never let anyone other than me or the hokage ever get this from you alright?' I said handing her the little scroll. She nodded and tucked it inside of her shirt as I looked at the other two.

Kouga was trying his best to be brave for the girls but I knew he was terrified as was Tomodachi who was trying to hide in the boy's hair. Kiko was a wreck, shaking almost as bad as Momo was but she looked closer to hysterics than the peach girl did as I hugged them again.

'now, Kouga-kun be strong for your teammates. You are a great Inuzuka. Kiko-chan, you're a genius. You could rival sakura-chan some day. I want you both to protect Momo-chan and that scroll with your lives. That scroll is vital to all of Konoha. Don't let anyone take it alright?' I said as they all nodded. I gave them a warm smile. 'Now I have to go help fight. If I don't come back remember I'm very proud of all of you and you have been an amazing team' I said as they all burst into tears and hugged me. I looked up to see Iruka was a sad smile as we both nodded to one another as Nori padded over. I looked down at the children and gave them one last squeeze before disappearing with a transportation jutsu.

I landed on top of Hokage mountain and looked out over the city. It looked like the gates of hell had opened as the city burned. Explosions rocked various parts as people swarmed the city like ants. Red seemed to coat everything in places as I felt sick. I hated war. It never decided who was right. It only decided who was left still standing.

I didn't have to turn as I felt the enormous set of chakra flares coming from my right as I drew Akane and turned to face my newest opponents. Black cloaks and red clouds assaulted my visions as a smile crept over my face. In front of my stood Itachi, Kisame, Deidara, Sasori, Hidan, Tobi, and Kakuzu. A grin split my face. I didn't think leader-sama would've allowed them to get involved in this as a fuzzy figure stepped out of the ranks. Immediately I bowed quite low. It was leader-sama. I knew he didn't have a very forgiving temper as I held my low bow as he approached.

'it seems you little town is burning.' He stated as I kept my head down. He seemed pleased by this. I was not about to let my pride get in the way now if it meant saving Konoha, saving Kakashi and all those I held dear.

'yes, leader-sama' I said still bent over. He didn't seem to say anything as he came closer.

'Stand up' he commanded as my back went ramrod straight. He was a few feet from me and watched my much like a big cat would a canary as he circled me. I stared straight ahead. Best not to make eye contact as the Akatsuki held firm at the far end of the field.

'You want our help. But what are you willing to give us in return for our help?' he asked as I swallowed. Of course, an arm for an arm, Leader-sama was always a very reasonable man as I looked at the others for help. Their expressions were hard and cold. No help there.

'What is it that you wish of me in return for your help?' I asked as leader-sama gave a laugh. It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end as I held myself still. I would not cave to him as he circled me.

'Well, I enjoy having a spy within Konoha. Someone who can keep us… updated on everything going on around this area.' He stopped to look me in the eyes. 'Especially they kyuubi' he said as I felt my blood run cold. Naruto. He wanted Naruto. I was not about to give up my friend for their help.

'I wont give you Naruto-kun if that is what you want leader-sama' I said as he waved a hand at me.

'Naruto-kun is the least of our problems. I can send the others to collect him when the time is needed. What I want from you is to continue being a double agent for us.' He said as my stomach dropped. Double agent. Sharing Konoha's secrets with the Akatsuki. It was so dangerous and I'd be going against everyone in the village. It would make it insanely easy for them to destroy Konoha if they felt like it. I had been trained to be a double agent that was my job that was why I couldn't be trusted. Rin came first. It always had. I looked into Leader's holographic eyes as another explosion rocked the city.

Dammit, well at least if it really came down to it I would kill myself before I gave over any insanely precious information about Konoha to them. But Konoha needed all of the help they could get and the Akatsuki were the best help we could possibly get.

Was selling my soul worth the safety of all of the others?

I looked at Itachi's flinty eyes. I knew he would want to see Konoha burnt to the ground for what they had put him thought. But this wasn't his battle anymore, it was mine and I knew what I had to do.

'I'll do it if you help kill Orochimaru' I said as Leader's eyes seemed pleased. My stomach churned. I had just sold my soul to a living demon as he turned to look at this group.

'Looks like dear Yuki-chan is an Akatsuki after all. Itachi-san you are in command' he said as fizzed out. My knees felt weak and I felt nauseous at what I had just done as Kisame and Deidara came to stand beside me.

'You did what was best, Hm' Deidara said as I nodded. I still felt ill as Nori gave me a distressed look. She knew that what I had done had been to save my loved ones but at what cost to myself I didn't know.

'Let's kick some snake ass!' Hidan snapped cracking his knuckles as he let out a psychotic laugh. Well same old same old it seemed as Itachi came to stand beside me.

'Rules are simple. Attack missing nin, leave the leaf ninja. Find and kill orochimaru' he said and jumped. we all followed landing on a roof top and moving as a rather spread unit across the various rooftops.

No one stood in our way.

It must've looked frightening to see the black and red mass streaming across the rooftops toward the thickest of the fighting. Rogues ran for their lives but most were cut down with simple jutsu or weapons. I heard a wicked laugh from above me as Deidara jumped on one of his birds and was dropping bombs on the unsuspecting missing nin.

I really was in league with a bunch of psychos as we landed at the opening of the front gate. The moment we landed everyone froze and turned to look at us. I stood in between Kisame and Itachi as I brandished a sword.

'Tell us where Orochimaru is' I roared as no one dared to breathe. I felt Itachi's sharingan spin as he was waiting to unleash his genjutsu. Not a soul dared to move as the sound of fighting behind us roared.

'Akatsuki' the whisper seemed to echo around the crowd as some missing nin ran for their lives. Most were cut down before they had a chance to escape as the Konoha ninja looked confused.

'WHERE IS OROCHIMARU!' I bellowed as Kisame grabbed one of the fleeing rogues and dragged him over to me. I looked at him, all he could see was the dragon mask as he cowered under my stare. 'Tell me where he is' I hissed as the man looked like he was going to wet himself. Itachi focused the sharingan on him as my own spun pushing fear into his body.

'Half a mile north east from the city!' he shouted before Kisame broke his neck in one movement.

'let's move' Itachi said as I followed. Kakuzu and Hidan decided to stay along with Tobi who seemed to have changed as I saw him killing the rogue ninja in rather… gruesome ways before taking a bearing and heading off toward where we had been Told Orochimaru would be.


	29. Never Give In

We moved swiftly but silently as Kisame and Itachi took the lead through the dark forest. We met no resistance seeing as all of the rogues were swarming Konoha like ants. Orochimaru must be pretty confident if he didn't think he needed protection around him. But then again he probably didn't expect me to sell my soul to the Akatsuki for help.

Was I crazy? Probable, highly probable. It did run in my family as it turned out as Itachi's hand shot out halting both Kisame and I. I looked as Itachi pointed to the right indicating where Orochimaru was. Silently Kisame and I snuck around to the far side of the clearing. How the shark man could hide his massive chakra flare I would never know but he was extremely adept at doing it.

We reached the far side of the clearing as I pushed chakra into my eyes. The area exploded in colour as I pushed my sight past the shrubs and into the clearing. It was odd, Orochimaru was standing wide out in the open talking to Kabuto and a few Rogue ninja stood in various places around the clearing. It was all very suspicious.

'What do you see?' Kisame whispered as I relayed the information.

'It's too suspicious. I don't like it' I muttered as Kisame nodded. I looked over to see Itachi on the far side of the clearing hidden by a group of boughs. I knew he couldn't see me but he was waiting for a signal to move in.

'Well, should we surprise them or announce ourselves?' Kisame asked as I reevaluated the situation. Judging by the spacing of the rogues they were waiting for a surprise attack. If we could knock down the ranks then we would be able to take out Orochimaru effectively. I wished Leader-sama had joined the ranks as had Konan, but knowing my luck they were probably over in steel country west of stone.

'I think we should announce ourselves. Make our chakra flares as large as possible to scare off the rogues. They're waiting for a surprise attack.' I said as Kisame grinned. I knew that his chakra flare would be large enough to scare off most people just because vast amounts of chakra commanded superiority to others, especially low ranking ninja.

'You might want to turn off your eyes or you may go blind' he said as I nodded and the world seemed very limited when I looked at Kisame. I moved a little way off and flared my chakra as best I could. Itachi caught on and did the same as Kisame let his go. I staggered at how large of a flare he had as I watched the lesser rogues look at one another then to orochimaru and Kabuto who were both grinning like fools.

'Screw this!' One missing nin snapped and ran as most of the others took off following him. They were quickly silenced by Kisame or Itachi as I watched Orochimaru who looked insanely smug.

'well, well, if it isn't my old friends.' He grinned as I stood and stepped out of the shrubbery. He seemed surprised as I gave a cheeky half wave with two fingers.

'Hey, remember me? You thought you had killed me with your buddy Maro' I said calmly as something clicked in Orochimaru's head as a huge grin spread across his face. He signaled to Kabuto as he stepped back behind his master glaring at me the entire time. He took another step closer as I held my ground. I knew I had back up and the rest of the Akatsuki were on their way as Orochimaru deftly stepped to my right.

'Ah yes, the little Ice kunoichi. You were so pretty when you were half alive.' He licked his lips as he took another step. 'we knew you had no idea where the scroll was, really, all we wanted was to watch Konoha panic. It was the start of our plan of Konoha's downfall. And everyone played straight into my hands.' He grinned as he was slowly circling me. I knew the trick. He would make me follow him so Kabuto could jump me when I wasn't looking.

'I know of your little plan' I spat as his grin widened.

'ah, a smart one too. I like the smart ones, they always have so much to die for in the end. I'm impressed that you caught on to our little charade actually. Even your little copy ninja didn't pick up on it like you did. Too bad that he's been done away with' Orochimaru grinned as he snapped his fingers. My blood ran cold as Kabuto summoned a body to him that landed with a thump on his feet.

I bit back the scream as Kakashi's dull lifeless brown eyes stared at me as Kabuto lifted the lifeless body by the jounin's now matted grey hair so the jounin's shocked face stared back at me.

No.

No.

Not again.

Flashes of Yuuto's death ran through my mind as I still kept a fix on where Orochimaru was. Blood, blood all over the crisp white snow. Red on white, a dirty stain. So vivid against the blurry background. Yuuto's surprised back and lifeless green eyes.

I looked back at Kakashi's lifeless body as Kabuto grinned and violently chucked Kakashi's body away from him as it landed with a sickening thud. I felt something break within me as I saw the body lying there. Unmoving, not breathing, no chakra flare.

It was all so surreal.

This was not supposed to happen!

I could feel my heart fragmenting all over again. My stomach turn to lead as orochimaru took another step. In that instant the world fell away. It was me and orochimaru as I turned to look at him.

He was grinning as he stepped over to where Kakashi's body was.

'Too bad, he was such a wonderful ninja. What a waste.' He sneered and kicked Kakashi's body so that it flew across the clearing and hit a tree with a sickening crunch.

Anger boiled within me like acid, slowly eating away at me.

Kakashi was dead.

There was no longer a point for me to live.

I had failed for the last time.

Orochimaru would pay.

The air in the clearing seemed to change an took on an ozone like tang as a deadly calm seemed to wash through me. Orochimaru would not live to see another day. This was the third loved one he had taken from me and I'd be damned if I didn't take this sick bastard down.

'Oh, have I made the little butterfly angry?' he snickered as my chakra flared once again. There was one technique that I knew he would never expect from me of all people as I concentrated my chakra into my arms. He was grinning ear to ear as I noticed Itachi and Kisame step out of the shrubs.

'You're going to die here Orochimaru' I spat as his grin widened.

'Just like both your little lover boys I destroyed' he taunted as a damn seemed to break. Anger, hot blind fury rushed forward as instinct took over. I unsheathed Akane and drove forward as he easily deflected me by summoning a snake which I sliced through cleanly in one swipe. He grinned as I managed to get close enough to nick his cheek before he shot away from me , pushed off a tree and came from my Right. I blocked his sword as I pulled out a Chakra control device. It had worked before as I felt something pierce the side of my wrist. I looked down to see a senbon needle sticking cleanly out of my wrist as I saw orochimaru grin. I threw the device anyway as it caught his shoulder.

He grunted in pain as I landed and pulled the needle out. Hot pain flared up my arm as I ignored it and attacked again. I brought my Tanto out of my sash and brought Akane across in an arc as Orochimaru brought a sword out of no where. I blocked as it extended just missing my ear by millimeters as I swung my leg out to catch him. I managed to catch his leg as I also grabbed his arm and twisted.

There was an enraged snarl as Orochimaru's useless arms twisted sickeningly as I turned and brought the sword back around as I blocked before I noticed his leg come around and hit me squarely in the side.

I felt a rib or two crack under the impact as I slid back across the clearing panting. Orochimaru hadn't even broken a sweat yet as the fury rose up once again.

'Come on Yuki-chan! Kill me, you little Kashi-kun couldn't!' he sneered as my vision went white.

BASTARD!

I attacked ruthlessly managing to land a few good slashes to his chest as I sustained more damage than I had originally thought as I was slammed into the dirt with as I felt my collar bone snap under the impact. The pain seared up once again as I pulled Orochimaru's arm down into the dirt with me wrenching on his arm and stabbing him in the shoulder with my Tanto.

'You bitch!' he hissed as he crushed my throat with his knee and rolled forcing me into the dirt. I gagged as he continued to apply pressure. That asshole, what a cheap trick! I Reached out as I felt his cold dead arm and pulled as hard as I could. There was a popping and ripping noise as Orochimaru screamed bloody murder before I realized I had ripped his arm from his shoulder.

The dead arm fell over as he jumped away from me screaming. I got to my feet and pulled up Akane with me as pain seared through my chest at the broken collar bone. Orochimaru glared at me as he hissed through his teeth.

This bastard was going down, and I was willing to die to take him down. I look past orochimaru as I noticed Kakashi eerily still body. It was crumpled at the base of the tree as I felt sick as Orochimaru gave a dark sinister laugh.

'Is the poor little kunoichi going to cry over her dead lover' he taunted as I grit my teeth painfully. I felt my chakra flare as I tamped down on it and forced it into a little ball and compressed it. I glared a him as I felt the blood from all of the numerous cuts ooze sluggishly. I pulled on the chakra in my cloak as I pulled the condensed chakra into strings as the sharingan whirled behind my mask.

This fucker was going down. He was going down for everything that had ever happened to me.

I was Akio as he laughed and swung me around when we had graduated to assassin level.

I saw Yuuto's warm smiling face as he turned back to give me a hand up after I had fallen.

I saw Kakashi's warm eye smile as we danced on valentine's day his dark brown eye warm and loving.

He took these people away from me. He was going to pay.

'Come on girly. I dare you' he taunted as I lost it completely. I ran at him. Distantly I heard Kisame yell as I pulled the threads of condensed chakra along as I roared and ripped off my mask.

Pain ricocheted across my skull from my right eye as I pointed at Orochimaru. Amaterasu exploded forth as the black fire engulfed Orochimaru as he screamed in pain.

I swayed, that had depleted my reserves severely as I fought the wave of nausea that washed over me. Orochimaru glared at me as I fought to stand. I saw Kisame swing Samehada from the sidelines as Orochimaru looked extremely irritated as he turned back to me with a sly grin.

'How dare you, you little bitch' he spat as I glared at him. My right eye was utterly useless as I could feel the blood leaking out of it as I kept it shut. The fire was still burning on his useless arm as he snickered and pulled a sword out of his mouth. I froze, there was no way I could dodge that as I felt the condensed chakra in my hands. I had to lob his head off as the only option I had was to run at him.

I pulled the condensed chakra out as Orochimaru turned his head. I saw threads wrap themselves firmly around Orochimaru's legs and held him to the ground as he looked insanely frustrated. I evaded the first swing as the blade sliced deeply into my arm as I tossed the one end of the chakra ball at Orochimaru. He dodged as I grabbed a tree branch and pushed off as an explosion went off quite close singling my hair and lighting Orochimaru's completely as he was still rooted firmly to the ground. I felt the cold blade slice through my side as I shoved the condensed ball of chakra forward. I saw orochimaru's eyes widen a fraction as the sword bit more deeply into my side as I bit back a yelp of pain as I forced the ball of chakra through him.

I smelt flesh burn as there was a strangled scream as the condensed strings cut through him slicing through him like a hot knife in butter. In an instant Orochimaru was dead. His head was cut from the rest of his body as colour seemed to leak back into the world. Sound pushed itself in as well as I heard someone yelling my name. Black flames engulfed Orochimaru's body as the sword fell away from my side with a dull clank of metal as nausea washed over me.

I had used too much chakra. I had none left. None at all. I was going to die, I knew I was. I tried to continue standing but my legs had other ideas as I collapsed to the ground. All of my wounds and broken bones were jarred painfully as I felt like I was on fire. I couldn't move as I heard people rushing over to where I was.

'Yuki! Yukiko!' I distantly heard Kakashi's voice as a small smile crossed my face. Even when I was dying I could hear him as I felt an arm slide under my shoulders and gently lift me.

The sun was coming up as light slowly filtered into the clearing as I opened my eyes to see Kakashi's face leaning over me as was Itachi, Kisame, Hidan, Tobi, Deidara, hell the entire Akatsuki was there.

'Oh god, Yuki' Kakashi sounded distraught. That was not right, Kakashi shouldn't sound distraught I was going to meet him wasn't I? Wasn't Kakashi dead?

'Kashi-kun?' I asked as I felt his warm hand gently trace my face. Everything was so cold. Why was it so cold? Something wet hit my cheek as I looked up. Kakashi was crying both the sharingan and his regular eye was crying as his tears hit my cheeks.

'I'm here Yuki. Don't leave me' he pleaded as I felt insanely guilty as I watched little flecks of snow fall from the heavens.

It was snowing…

'Come on Yuki-san, stay with us.' Deidara's low soothing voice held a waver in it as Kakashi's warm hands traced my face as more warm tears slid down my cheeks. I knew I was dying. I had no feeling in my arms and legs anymore and I could faintly taste the blood from my internal bleeding.

'Sakura and Tsunade are on their way Yuki-chan, just stay with us' Kakashi pleaded as I tried to nod but all I could managed was a slight twitch. Kisame looked worried as I felt something warm being pooled into me. I knew Kisame was transferring whatever he could into me to keep me alive. It was endearing really.

I looked back up to the sky as the snow caught in Kakashi's hair and seemed to sparkle in brilliant hues of red. I looked up as the entire sky seemed alight with little flecks of crimson.

Crimson Snowfall.

The snowflakes were the colour of crimson as it warmed my heart.

It was beautiful as I felt Kakashi gently shift me as the pain flared from even the slightest movement as I let out a groan and my body went limp.

'Yuki!' Kakashi gasped as I managed to find enough energy to turn my head to look at Kakashi as I felt more of Kisame's chakra being poured into me. I didn't notice how much I had used until I noticed how much Kisame was trying to push into me to just keep my alive as I felt the nagging feel of unconsciousness tugging at my mind.

'it hurts' I managed to mumble as he looked insanely guilty as he smoother my hair from my face as he flinched. My right eye must've been a mess as people shifted around me as Itachi was making commands to the Akatsuki.

'Im so sorry Yuki' Kakashi apologized as he touched his forehead to mine. He was so warm it was a nice feeling as I tried to smile. It probably turned out more like a grimace.

'It's not… your fault Kashi. I thought… you were dead' I managed to pant out as he froze.

'What?!' he gasped as he looked up as I closed my eyes and rested a moment.

'Over there. Kabuto created a body double to look like you' Kisame said as I felt Kakashi turn to look. I felt him stiffen before masked lips ghosted over my forehead.

'I'm alright Yuki, I'm safe, just stay with me okay?' he said as I fought again the heavy coldness that had seemed to settle over me.

'I'm trying but…. I don't think I can.' I panted there was something wrong with my lungs. Kakashi looked incredibly upset as I moved my hand as best I could to rest it limply against his cheek. He was sobbing openly now as I smiled.

'Please Yuki, please. Fight it… don't-don't leave me' he whispered as I smiled and he pressed his cheek into my hand.

'I will always love you Kashi-kun. If I die, I will always love you.' I said with a smile as I thought Kakashi might break completely as something close to hopelessness swam behind his eyes as he tucked his face against my blood stained clothing. I couldn't fight it anymore. I had tried for so long and I didn't want to give up but I was no longer in control of my body.

I saw a bob of hot pink hair as Kakashi's face swam in my vision before I was sucked under into a void.

It was weird, this void. Everything was white and it felt like I was falling but I wasn't.

There was something I was supposed to do. Something I was supposed to remember as I suddenly came to a stop. What was going on? My falling slowed as I noticed I was falling through a series of white doors. They all had different handles and knobs also painted white as I came and settled in front of a door. This was strange where was I and what was going on? I looked around, there was just doors above me and below me. All were white with white knobs as I heard the creak of a hinge. I turned back around as one of the doors in front of me opened, was I supposed to go in?

The nagging feeling was back, what was I supposed to do!? This was so irritating as I was drawn by an invisible force into the door as it swung shut behind me. It was weird as colour seemed to bleed into the room like a water colour artist's colours paper as a warm apartment furnished distinctly with Rin style furniture.

I looked around as I caught sight of some very familiar red hair.

'Oh, I think someone came for a visit' I heard Yuuto's soft voice from the kitchen as there was a snort that was distinctly Akio.

'If its Edward he knows to let himself in' Akio waved as I noticed he was sitting at the dinner table.

'It's not Edward' I smiled as the room seemed to freeze before Yuuto and Akio were standing before me. They were both blinking owlishly as Akio's face suddenly looked terribly sad as did Yuuto's. What was wrong?

'Yuki' Yuuto said with a small smile as I grinned and ran to hug both of them. They accepted the hug as it felt good to be with them again. That's when it clicked. Yuuto, Akio…

I was dead.

I froze as Kakashi's distraught face flashed through my minds eye as I felt tears well in my eyes.

'Oh Yuki' Yuuto's soft voice was soothing as he rubbed my back as I let out a few tears only to find that my right eye wouldn't work properly. I backed up as Akio looked at me rather sadly as he put a hand on my shoulder.

'You're not completely dead yet. But almost, your brain isn't dead yet so that's why you still have the injuries from your previous life' Akio pointed out as I traced the scars that still ringed my neck.

'I-I'm not dead?' I blurted out as Yuuto gave me a small smile and nodded.

'No not completely but it means that you are almost dead. Lets hope wherever your body is its in good hands' Akio said as I nodded. My body was in the care of Tsunade and Sakura, the best medical ninja in that side of the world.

'That means you'll have to go back soon. That's always a good thing, we were hoping that we wouldn't see you until you came to us old and wrinkled not, beaten bloody and bruised' Yuuto teased as I smiled and gave them another hug.

'I missed you guys so much!' I smiled as I received another round of hugs.

'Jeeze you stink, would you like a bath?' Akio asked as I laughed and nodded. After I cleaned up, it all seemed to real. The water, the tub the room. Akio and Yuuto. It was strange, I had dreamed of seeing them again ever since the incident.

But now, it all seemed…wrong almost as I let the water run through my fingers as I gently shaped it with chakra until a little figure of Kakashi stood in my hand.

I could feel the tears as my right eye burned. It was almost completely useless as I opened it to try to look around. I had little to no vision in it as I could make out blurred edges and vague tones of colours. Everything was muted in muted tones as I sighed and washed it as best I could.

'Yuki, may I come in?' Yuuto's soft voice was at the door as I sunk deeper under the bubbles.

'yea, come in' I said as the door swung open and the pale blue haired boy stepped in. He gave me a warm smile and sat on the counter facing me. I fidgeted and played with the bubbles covering the top of the water as he sighed.

'You miss him don't you' he said calmly as I looked up shocked. How had he known? Instantly I felt bad. I had loved Yuuto so deeply but after Kakashi I had moved on grieving for Yuuto but knowing my happiness was all that Yuuto wanted. I searched Yuuto's face for anything like betrayal or anger but all I found was love and sympathy. I looked back at the frothy bubbles feeling angry at myself and feeling like I had betrayed Yuuto in some fashion.

'yes, I do' I muttered as I heard him shift.

'Yuki, you know I'm glad you listened to me when I invaded your dreams. I'm dead. I can never go back but you still can and probably will. I know that what we had was special but you have moved on and come to love Kakashi more than life itself.' He stopped as I let the tears run down my face into the water. 'I will always love you Yuki but you have moved on like I wanted you to. You love this man and he is still alive waiting for you, praying day and night for you' Yuuto gently lifted my face as I looked into his warm blue eyes as he kissed my forehead.

'how are you not mad?' I blurted as Yuuto smiled and brushed my hair back.

'because sometimes when we love someone completely their happiness is what we put before our own selves.' Yuuto whispered as I looked up at him. He was always so calm, and was always so knowledgeable.

'Yuuto, you know how much I loved you and how much I will always love you but…I need to go back to Kakashi. He needs me as much or more than I need him now. If I die it will be the last strike for him, he's already lost so much, if I die it'll push him over the edge.' I said gently gripping Yuuto's forearms as he gently rested his hands on my shoulders.

'I know Yuki, I can go to the realm of the living any time I want. Akio is already talking with the archangels about letting you return before your body dies. You saved an entire village of people and a great chunk of the world too from falling under Orochimaru. I have a feeling that you'll be able to return' he said smiling as I nodded and sat back in the tub. 'oh right, here' he grinned pulling a cloth strip and tied it around my right eye. He smiled and ruffled my hair once again like when we were kids. 'it should help your eye heal a little. It'll never return to what it was and your sharingan in that eye will be damaged too' he said as I nodded and stirred the bubbles around as he smiled and left.

I climbed out of the tub and dressed myself in a pair of pants and a shirt as I went into the living room. It was strange as I saw Yuuto watching TV as there was a plate of supper waiting for me. I took the plate and came to sit beside Yuuto. It was just like the old days, eating and watching TV together after I bathed from training. It was amazingly similar as I sighed and ate the chicken and potatoes they had made.

The door opened and slammed as Akio stepped in rubbing his temples.

'I'm going to fucking stab Artello and Michael. Those guys a pricks I'm glad Rena and Artemis came to my rescue dammit. Athena and Nike are now reviewing your case hopefully Gabriel will be in a good mood today. I hate dealing with pissy archangels' he fumed as he mowed down the plate of food Yuuto had made as I sighed and looked at the TV.

'You shouldn't be so coarse Akio' Yuuto chided as the red head rolled his eyes and continued to shovel his food in his mouth. I looked at the Tv watching it but not bothering to follow the story.

I gave up and took a nap on the corner of the couch as I heard people shifting around the room. I heard voices distantly as I dozed on the arm of the couch. It wasn't long before a door slamming awoke me from my doze.

'Well time to go back!' I was shaken awake as I blinked feeling the sharp pain in my eye. I looked up to see a grinning Akio and Yuuto as a Hispanic woman was standing beside them.

'We don't have much time. She's already been in a coma for about three months' the tanned woman mumbled as I blinked. Three months? How did time pass here versus the living world?

'Three months?!' I gasped as she nodded and I looked between my two best friends. They shrugged, they must've been accustomed to how fast the mortal world passed compaired to being dead as I sighed and nodded. 'Send me back please' I said as the pretty woman smiled and hauled me to my feet.

'This is quite a simple procedure actually' she said as she pulled me to where the door was as she yanked it open. The whiteness of the doors was shocking as I closed my eyes as I felt hands on my shoulders.

'The next time we see you we want to have to turn you back into a young woman!' Akio teased as Yuuto kissed me. It was so different from the way Kakashi kissed me I was shocked as the woman smiled then gave me a fierce shove. I flailed trying to grab something, anything as the same feeling of weightless falling came. I watched as Yuuto and Akio's faces grew small and smaller as they waved as I fell.

I felt like I was falling forever.

White, all I could see was white. It was everywhere. Rushing past me, white noise, the colour white as I turned to look down. Slowly there was something approaching at the bottom. It was green mixed with blue and white swirling together as I noticed that it was actually earth. Home. Swirling together as I slammed into something. It hurt amazingly as I saw blue sparkles surround me before everything was blurred into a haze of white.


	30. Awakening, the beginning of the rain

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Hiss. Click. Hiss. Click. Hiss. Click. Hiss. Click. Hiss. Click.

Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow.

Oh god I didn't know where I stared and the pain ended. Every single appendage screamed in agony as the calm of the white faded and the sounds of the hospital faded in.

There was a TV droning at a low volume as I tried to open my eyes to find that they were covered by gauze. Right, I had destroyed my right eye using amaterasu on Orochimaru. There was a slight bit of light from where I assumed there was a window as I heard someone shifting around the room before the door opened quietly.

'Afternoon Hatake-sama, visiting miss Uchiha again?' the light voice of the nurse beside me greeted as my heart soared. Kakashi! He was alright! Yes! I wanted to jump up and cheer or tackle him into a hug but I couldn't control my body at all. Oh no, I couldn't command my body! No, no, no, no!!!!

I wanted to scream in frustration as I heard Kakashi step closer and set something gently on a table to my right by the window.

'Has there been any change?' he asked a hint of hope in his defeated voice. My heart twisted as the heart monitor jumped and both of them started. I wanted to move and grab Kakashi in a hug so badly, tell him everything would be alright, I would be able to get up soon.

'I would call that a change. The monitor also is registering strong brain activity now, much more than yesterday. In fact at this level she should be conscious. I'll call Sakura-san in to take a look. Excuse me' she said as I heard her shuffle out of the room. I wanted to hold Kakashi so badly as I felt a warm hand wrap around my own. Come on body, allow me a slight movement, anything!

Nothing. I wondered what drugs they had me on as I wanted more than anything to try to communicate with him.

'Yuki-chan, I'm back. The old lady sent me on a mission to stone. I brought you back a scarf made of their special wool. Its really soft I hope you'll like it.' He said softly as I wanted to cry. He was still thinking of me even after all this time I had been lying here in a coma. If it had been over three months then there was a rare chance that I would ever wake unless half of my coma was drug induced to keep me alive on life support.

'Sasuke and Itachi are still not speaking. Both of them blame themselves for what has happened to you. I ran into Itachi and Kisame on my way back. They didn't attack me because Itachi wanted information on you. He's really upset Yuki-chan, he blames himself almost as much as I do.' He whispered as my chest felt like lead and the heart monitor showed it. I heard Kakashi glance up as he ran a hand over my face.

'Can you hear me Yuki-chan?' he asked as I tried to move anything as I held my breath and the monitor beeped erratically before I felt extremely dizzy and took another deep breath as the rhythm resumed. I gently felt a weight press on me as Kakashi's arms circled me in a hug as I felt warm wet tears trace down the side of my neck. 'Yuki-chan please, please, open your eyes. Wake up. So much has happened' he whispered as he moved back and sighed. 'There were so many casualties. The city was pretty much leveled thanks to the Akatsuki but they ran the rogues out of Konoha. I know you had something to do with that but none of them would tell me anything.' He was whispering as I felt him trace the gauze that covered my eyes. I wanted to open them and look at him but nothing was responding to my senses.

'Genma-san, Kotetsu-san, Hayate-san, they're all gone. Asuma-kun is still recovering from being caught in an explosion. There were a great deal of jounin and chounin killed yuki-chan. We have about a third of our ninja population now, everyone in the tunnels got away safely but sadly Momo-chan's parents both died in the attack as did Kouga's mother and Kiko's parents are gone as well.' He trailed off. I wanted to cry there must be so many orphans now after that. so many children without homes and adults to look after them.

What about the original genin 9? Was everyone ok?

'Don't worry all of Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura's friends are all right. Many are still here recovering though like Kiba, Neji, Sasuke, Chouji, TenTen and Temari. They're stable but their injuries were quite severe about two months ago.' He muttered. I had been unconscious for so long, it hadn't even seemed like that long as I remembered fragments of what seemed like a dream of meeting Yuuto and Akio in heaven or wherever that crazy door place was.

I heard the door slide open and heels click across the room.

'Kakashi-sensei, I didn't know you came early today' Sakura's soft voice flitted across the room as I heard him shift to look at the kunoichi.

'yes, something told me today was going to be a good day so I came early' he smiled as I felt the mood in the room lighten a little as Sakura played with the machines by the sound of it.

'This is strange' Sakura muttered as I heard some of the machines whirr around me and the sound of paper being torn.

'The nurse said the same thing' Kakashi muttered as I heard Sakura go back to the door and call for something. 'What is wrong Sakura-chan?' Kakashi's voice was bored once again as I heard a cart being wheeled in.

'Nothing is wrong actually, Yuki-chan should be awake right now. The only problem was that we put her in a coma partially because the pain from her injuries and healing would've been too immense if she had become conscious.' Sakura said as I felt my body being moved as they pulled the trachea tube out of my throat and unhooked some tubes and wires from my skin. I really couldn't feel any of it but the dulled sensation of my skin being touched was so odd and disturbing.

'Here we go, this should take a little while but soon she should be awake and well, not necessarily moving but she probably could talk' Sakura's voice was soft as warmth seemed to flood through my body. Slowly I could start to feel my limbs and even was able to move my fingers. My entire body was so stiff as I tried to move slightly to relieve the sore muscles as it probably looked more like I was having a seizure or something.

The pain flooded in slowly after the ache in my muscles. Places where chakra damage had been healed and such, it wasn't unbearable but it was irritating as I took a deep breath and noticed how dry my throat was. It was almost painfully so as I groaned and tried to lift my still heavy arm.

'Yuki-chan?' Kakashi's voice was worried and anxious as I tried to smile and laugh. It turned more into a cough as I felt the cold smoothness of a glass on my lips as I drank as much of the water as I could. It was soothing as my dry throat was dehydrated and the urge to cough was diminished.

'Yuki-chan can you hear me?' Sakura's voice was soft as I smiled.

'hey, what's going on?' I managed to croak as I felt another glass of water touch my lips as I drank it greedily.

'Yuki-chan' Kakashi sounded like he was crying as I tired to turn to look at him. My body didn't want to work as the movement was jerky but I managed to try to look at him. All I saw was the gauze as I tried to open my right eye. Hot pain flashed through my skull as I gasped and raised my hand to cover my eye as it was caught in Kakashi's strong grip.

'Yuki, your right eye is damaged from using amaterasu. We don't know how much your vision has been reduced because of it but the damage was pretty severe' Sakura explained as I nodded and suddenly felt the pain ebbing away. She had given me some type of pain reliever as I relaxed and gently reached for the gauze around my eyes.

Kakashi's hands caught mine as I felt him remove the gauze from my eyes. Slowly the light gradually became lighter as I gently opened my eyes as I looked at everyone in the room. It was scary, there were flowers on every spare surface in the room, cards and fruit baskets were nestled amongst the flowers as I tried to open my right eye. It was incredibly sore as all I could see from that eye was extremely muted colours and fuzzy outlines of objects in the room.

'how are you feeling?' Sakura's voice was soft as I looked to my left to see her smiling at me softly.

'Sore, and a little blind but glad to be here' I smiled as I heard a soft sigh. I looked to my right to see Kakashi. He looked run ragged, pale and too thin, dark circle under his one visible eye and his hair was tousled and a dull gray instead of its usual silver.

'Kashi-kun' I breathed as he gave a cheery eye smile. He wasn't dead, Kakashi wasn't dead. I flung myself at him as sobs wracked my sore body. I gripped him as tightly as I could, this wasn't a dream or illusion. Kakashi was here with me, alive.

'Yuki, shhh. It's alright' he whispered as I felt him run his hand through my hair as the other held me against him.

'I thought… you were… dead' I muttered into the crook of his neck as leant his head against mine and pulled me closer. He was always so warm, so loving, always there.

'No, I'm here. Always will be' he said softly as I hugged him closer. I knew I couldn't leave him not only because of him but because I was selfish. Kakashi was someone I needed as much or more than he needed me. We understood one another in so many ways, ways that Yuuto and I could never connect.

I sat back and looked at Kakashi as he gave me a warm smile. I noticed Sakura had left us alone in the little room as I lay back on the bed. I was oddly still tired as I sighed and smiled at him. My hair had been pulled over my right eye so it saved me from trying to look at him and my gaze being completely out of focus.

'Yuki-chan, listen. There are a great deal of things that have changed in Konoha and a great deal of things still have to be rebuilt but I think this will probably be the best time to ask you. Because of everything that has happened Yuki, I realized how important you are to me. I-I want to' he stopped and looked away or a moment. What was he trying to ask me? I knew Kakashi was a shy person by nature and never really did understand social situations but darn if he wasn't making this instance even harder. 'Yuki-chan when you almost died in my arms I realized how much you meant to me. More than anything else in the world. It also made me realize that as Ninja our lives are going to be shorter than normal so I want to enjoy what I have.' He said and smiled at me as he gently grabbed my hand. My heart rate picked up as he gently pulled me up to sit in front of him as he looked into my good eye.

'Yukiko Uchiha, will you marry me?' he asked in a whisper as the world seemed to fall away. My brain froze. Kakashi. Marry. Me? Brain was not computing as suddenly a wall of emotion hit me as I started crying. Kakashi looked startled as I waved my hand trying to calm him as I smiled.

'Yes Kakashi Hatake you crazy man I will marry you!' I grinned as he smiled and grasped me in a hug. He produced a simple silver ring that looked like a ring of vines made into celtic knots, it really was stunning as I gasped. His lips crushed against mine as a cheer went up from where I guessed the doorway was as Kakashi spun me around. We pulled apart as I laughed and relaxed against the jounin's chest as I saw team 7 and 14 grinning from the door as I gave them a cheery smile.

My life wasn't perfect. It had never been and never would be. But in that moment where I had Kakashi's strong arms around me. My brother smirking and Sakura and Naruto grinning from ear to ear, my team were giggling and grinning at me. I thought maybe just maybe things would turn out for the better. I had come to Konoha soggy, covered in mud and searching for myself and now I had helped defeat Orochimaru, a wonderful team, a family and a wonderful Fiancée. I felt that I could conquer the world. I wondered how long this feeling would last before I knew reality would fade back in. In that moment I didn't care as I looked to see a light rain falling as the sun set turning everything a shade of crimson. I smiled, I had come from a world of Crimson Snowfall and now has become a woman living in a world of Crimson Rainfall.

The End

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

There will be a continuation of the story. Look for Crimson Rainfall, book 2 =] thanks to all of my loyal reviewers here on and on . you guys are the ones who really push me to complete my stories and think of great ideas for future chapters. Thank you all!


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